Open API: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Type of application programming interface}}

{{About|a type of application programming interface|the SDK by Konica Minolta|Konica Minolta OpenAPI|the web service specification|OpenAPI Specification}}

{{Other uses|OpenAPI (disambiguation){{!}}OpenAPI}}

An '''open API''' (often referred to as a public API) is a publicly available [[application programming interface]] that provides developers with programmatic access to a (possibly proprietary) [[Application software|software application]] or [[web service]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://readwrite.com/2013/09/19/api-defined|title = What APIs Are And Why They're Important|date = September 19, 2013|access-date = 28 October 2015|website = Readwrite|last = Proffitt|first = Brian}}</ref> Open APIs are APIs that are published on the [[internet]] and are free to access by consumers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is open API? - Definition from WhatIs.com |url=http://searchcloudapplications.techtarget.com/definition/open-API |access-date=2015-10-26 |website=SearchCloudApplications |archive-date=2017-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430125419/http://searchcloudapplications.techtarget.com/definition/open-API |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Alternative Definitions ==

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== Open API versus private API ==

=== Private API ===

A private API is an interface that opens parts of an organization's backend data and application functionality for use by developers working within (or contractors working for) that organization.<ref>{{Cite web|title = 6 Business Benefits of Private APIs {{!}} Nordic APIs {{!}}|url = http://nordicapis.com/business-benefits-of-private-apis/|website = Nordic APIs| date=13 February 2014 |access-date = 2015-11-04}}</ref> Private APIs are only exposed to internal developers therefore the API publishers have total control over what and how applications are developed. Private APIs offer substantial benefits with regards to internal collaboration. Using a private API across an organization allows for greater shared awareness of the internal data models. As the developers are working for (or contracted by) one organization, communication will be more direct and therefore they should be able to work more cohesively as a group. Private APIs can significantly diminish the development time needed to manipulate and build internal systems that maximise productivity and create customer-facing applications that improve market reach and add value to existing offerings.<ref>{{Cite web|title = 6 Business Benefits of Private APIs {{!}} Nordic APIs {{!}}|url = http://nordicapis.com/business-benefits-of-private-apis/|website = Nordic APIs| date=13 February 2014 |access-date = 2015-11-04}}</ref>

Private APIs can be made "private" in a number of ways. Most commonly the organization simply chooses not to document such an interface, such as in the case of undocumented functions of Microsoft Windows, which can be found by inspection of the symbol tables.<ref>{{cite web |title=NTAPI Undocumented Functions |url=http://undocumented.ntinternals.net/ |website=undocumented.ntinternals.net}}</ref> Some Web-based APIs may be authenticated by keys, both discoverable by analysis of application traffic.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Tutorial for Reverse Engineering Your Software's Private API: Hacking Your Couch {{!}} Toptal® |url=https://www.toptal.com/back-end/reverse-engineering-the-private-api-hacking-your-couch |website=Toptal Engineering Blog |language=en}}</ref> macOS furthermore uses an "entitlement", granted only by digital signature, to control access to private APIs in the system.<ref>{{cite web |last= Mo |first= Darren |title= A helper tool that enables Optimus Player to stream audio using AirPlay 2 |website= [[GitHub]] |date= 2019-05-07 |url= https://github.com/Optimus-Player/AirPlay-Enabler |access-date= 2019-05-09 }}</ref>

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=== Open API ===

In contrast to a private API, an open API is publicly available for all developers to access. They allow developers, outside of an organization's workforce, to access backend data that can then be used to enhance their own applications. Open APIs can significantly increase revenue without the business having to invest in hiring new developers making them a very profitable software application.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Beat the risks of managing public, private APIs|url = http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/feature/Beat-the-risks-of-managing-public-private-APIs|website = SearchSOA|access-date = 2015-11-04|archive-date = 2015-11-25|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125181803/http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/feature/Beat-the-risks-of-managing-public-private-APIs|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal However,|last1=Tündik it|first1=Máté isÁkos important|last2=Szabó to|first2=Zsolt remember|last3=Hilt that|first3=Attila |last4=Járó |first4=Gábor |date=2024-11-12 |title=Fusion of Telecommunications and IT Services Boosted by Application Programming Interfaces |journal=Signals |language=en |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=756–773 |doi=10.3390/signals5040042 |doi-access=free |issn=2624-6120}}</ref> However, opening back end information to the public can create a range of security and management challenges.<ref>{{Cite book|publisher = ACM|date = 2015-01-01|___location = New York, NY, USA|isbn = 978-1-4503-3832-5|pages = 44–56|series = CCS '15|doi = 10.1145/2810103.2813675|first1 = Zhui|last1 = Deng|first2 = Brendan|last2 = Saltaformaggio|first3 = Xiangyu|last3 = Zhang|first4 = Dongyan|last4 = Xu| title=Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security | chapter=IRiS | s2cid=5613038 }}</ref> For example, publishing open APIs can make it harder for organisations to control the experience end users have with their information assets. Open API publishers cannot assume client apps built on their APIs will offer a good user experience. Furthermore, they cannot fully ensure that client apps maintain the look and feel of their corporate branding.

== Open APIs in business ==

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With the rise in prominence of [[HTML5]] and Web 2.0, the modern browsing experience has become interactive and dynamic and this has, in part, been accelerated through the use of open APIs. Some open APIs fetch data from the database behind a website and these are called Web APIs. For example, Google's YouTube API allows developers to integrate YouTube into their applications by providing the capability to search for videos, retrieve standard feeds, and see related content.

Web APIs are used for exchanging information with a website either by receiving or by sending data. When a web API fetches data from a website, the application makes a carefully constructed HTTP request to the server the site is stored on. The server then sends data back in a format your application expects (if you requested data) or incorporates your changes to the website (if you sent data).

== See also ==

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== References ==

{{Reflist}}{{Web interfaces}}

{{Web interfaces}}

[[Category:Application programming interfaces]]