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April 19, 2021
API is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface. You might have heard this term if you’ve dealt with mobile app developers. APIs are a vital part of mobile app development as it powers the majority of mobile app’s functions. For you to understand and learn API programming, it is essential to understand How do APIs work and What are APIs used for. This article brings you the answer to these questions.
Let’s start with…
What Are APIs?
In simple words, API enables the process of communication between two mobile applications. From a technical standpoint, APIs are basically a set of programming instructions that enable an application to simultaneously employ the services and features of another application.
For instance, you may come across numerous mobile apps or websites that ask your permission to sign in with Facebook or Google. Once you allow it, the app gains access from its servers and enables you to use the app; this is called API integration.
One of the prime reasons why mobile developers and companies work on API development is that it provides better accessibility and integration to mobile applications and ultimately improves the user experience.
Tools for Developing APIs
With a massive shift towards API integration, the number of tools that are significantly helpful for convenient and result-driven API development. Here’s a list of what we think are the best tools.
Apigee
Powered by Google, the API management and predictive analytics tool support businesses and developers to integrate robust API approaches and digitally transform and reestablish their products.
APIMatic and API Transformer
Incorporated with functionalities that support the automated generation of cutting-edge SDKs and code-snippets leveraged by API-specific formats, these tools help develop and transform code into other specified formations like API Blueprint RAML and so forth.
API Science
The primary function of this tool is to analyze and evaluate both internal and external APIs’ performance.
API Server less Architecture
Integrated with cloud-based server infrastructure, the tool helps design, build, publish, and host APIs across cloud services.
API-Platform
An open-source PHP framework that is commonly used for web API development.
Auth0
Functioning as an API management solution, the tools help in the verification and authorizations of APIs.
Clear Blade
Another commonly used API management tool that supports IoT collaboration is API development.
GitHub
A code hosting and collaboration platform that enables mobile app developers to work on the same project simultaneously. The tool’s major features include managing code files, generating feature requests and commenting, and continuous integration.
Additionally, the tools also assist developers in coding and save their work privately.
Postman
It collects complex programming tools that enable app developers to developer, document, test, and evaluate their APIs.
API development and integration have significantly saturated the mobile application development industry. However, there is still enough room for further integration of the technology for better user experiences.
An important point to ponder is to evaluate and differentiate between the striking features that make the API integration a result-driven app development approach. Below are a few of the essential API features you must look into before starting off with development.
Essential API Development Features
Timestamps Changes/Search by criteria
An API should have a diverse range of options in searching data, including date, size, etc. It’s always the date that the developers and users can see, change, and delete right after the first-time synchronization of data.
Paging
Most of the time, we want to overview the changes made in the data, not the detailed information. Hence, this API tool displays the relevant data changes in one instance.
It also helps inform the end-user of all the number of pages remaining, allowing them to decide whether they view all the entire changes.
Sorting
The end-user should receive all the details of the pages one by one. Therefore, APIs should have a feature for sorting out data as per size and time of changes, etc.
JSON Support/REST
It’s always good for your APIs to have REST features that ensure effective API development. One of the advantages of utilizing REST APIs is that it enables developers to retry the upload process in case of process failure easily.
In this regard, JSON’s syntax is quite similar to most programming languages, making it easier for a developer to utilize it in any other language.
Sign-Up Authorization via OAuth
It’s again crucial for an API to authorize via OAuth as it allows the easy and fast sign-in option for the end-user.
Finally, API should have less processing time and response time along with a higher level of security. It’s critical for the developers to follow all the best practices on making an API as it contains a myriad of data for the developers to handle.
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How to Build an API the Right Way
Leverage Throttling
redirecting traffic overflow, secure and backup APIs, and protect them from DoS (Denial of Service) attacks is one of the essential app throttling practices.
API gateway Should Be Regarded as an Enforcer
When you’re establishing the rules for throttle, application of API OAuth or keys and the API gateway should be regarded as an enforcer. That allows access to only those users who have the right to access the data. Moreover, this practice will also enable message encryption, making changes to confidential information, and evaluate and manage how you want to use your API.
Enable Overriding HTTP Method
As some proxies are only compatible with POST and GET methods, it’s crucial for you to leverage RESTful API to override the HTTP method.
Evaluate the APIs and infrastructure:
You can efficiently conduct real-time analysis without the need for a dedicated mobile app developer with tools like AWS Cloud Watch.
Create A Detailed Documentation
Finally, you need to create detailed documentation for an API that allows other mobile app developers to grasp the entire development process and follow the documentation to provide an exceptional user experience. Or you can simply say that an effective API development is highly dependent on good API documentation as it fastens the project implementation time, reduces project cost, and improves overall API efficiency.
Conclusion
Well, there you have it; by now, you will certainly have a basic idea of what API development is, its essential features, and why it’s an integral part of the mobile app development process.
Now, if you have an idea for a mobile app, drop us a message on our chatbox, and let’s discuss how we can realize your dream mobile app.
