Learn in the textbookLibraries, APIs, and Low-Code Development
DefinitionAn API (Application Programming Interface) is an agreed way of calling that lets other programs use a piece of software's functions.
ExplanationThe caller makes a request using the specified names and way of passing values, and gets the result without knowing the internal workings. The provider can keep its internals hidden and expose only the functions needed, and as long as the agreement stays the same, rebuilding the internals does not affect the caller.
AnalogyIt is like a restaurant order slip. Order in the set format and the dish arrives, even though you do not know how the kitchen makes it.
Memory hookThe final I stands for Interface, the boundary where two things meet: an agreement placed at the boundary between programs.