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API Glossary
API Glossary
Explore key API terms, tools, and practices in this comprehensive glossary.
Welcome to the API Glossary
The world of APIs can be complex, with a wide range of tools, practices, and methodologies to explore. Our API Glossary is here to help! Whether you’re new to APIs or looking to refresh your knowledge, this glossary provides clear definitions for essential terms and technologies.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| AJAX | Technique for creating dynamic and interactive web pages. AJAX uses JavaScript to make requests to a web server in the background and retrieve data in various formats, including XML, HTML, or JSON. This data can be used to update specific parts of a web page without refreshing, which creates a more responsive and user-friendly experience. |
| Access | Ability to interact with an API, and it enables clients to request data, create or update resources, and execute specific operations. |
| Authentication | Process of verifying the identity of a user who is making an API request. |
| Cache | Infrastructure component that temporarily stores frequently accessed data so that it can be served more quickly and efficiently. |
| Call | Mechanism through which a client application requests or sends data to an API. An API call includes the endpoint URL and the HTTP method, as well as any headers, query parameters, or request body data. |
| Collection | Group of saved API requests that can easily be shared with others. These requests may represent a specific workflow, and they may also function as an API test suite. |
| Credentials | Enable clients to identify themselves to an API server. The API server validates the credentials and checks whether the client has the necessary permissions to perform the requested operation. |
| cURL | Command line tool that facilitates the transfer of data to or from a server using various protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, FTPS, SCP, and SFTP. |
| DELETE | Standard HTTP method that is used to delete data on a server. When a client sends a DELETE request, it is requesting that the resource at the specified URL be removed. |
| Endpoint | URL that is used to retrieve, create, update, or delete data on a server. |
| Fork | New instance of an element that you can change without making any changes to the parent element. |
| Gateway | Server that acts as an entry point for clients to access and interact with multiple microservices and backend systems. |
| GET | Standard HTTP method that is used to retrieve data on a server. When a client sends a GET request, it uses a specific URL to identify the resource it wants. |
| Headers | Metadata sent along with an API request or response. They provide essential details that help the client and server communicate more effectively and enable developers to customize and optimize the API's behavior. |
| JSON | Lightweight, text-based data format based on the JavaScript programming language syntax using key-value pairs to represent data objects. |
| Key | Unique identifier to authenticate and authorize access to an API. An API key is passed along with each API request to identify the client and ensure it has the necessary permissions to interact with the relevant endpoint. |
| JWT | JSON Web Token to securely transmit information between parties as a compact, URL-safe JSON object. It is primarily used for stateless authentication and authorization. |
| Microservice | Small service that performs a single business function and communicates with other microservices through APIs. |
| OAuth | Open standard authorization protocol that enables third-party applications to obtain limited access to user accounts on an HTTP service, without compromising the user's password. |
| OpenAPI | Most widely used specification format for describing and documenting an API's endpoints, methods, parameters, responses, and more. |
| Parameter | Variable passed to an API endpoint to provide specific information or instructions for the API to process. Parameters can be included in the API request as part of the URL, in the query string, or in the request body. |
| Portal | Centralized hub for deploying APIs, creating API catalogs, and publishing API documentation. |
| POST | HTTP method to create new resources. For example, a POST request to a /user endpoint will create a new user record in the database that is based on the data included in the request body. |
| PUT | HTTP request method to replace an existing resource with an updated version. |
| Request | Message an API client sends to an API server in order to retrieve or manipulate data. API requests typically include the following components: Endpoint, Method, Parameters, Headers, and Body. |
| REST | Architectural style for building web services and APIs. In a RESTful architecture, resources are identified by URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers), and operations are performed on those resources using standard HTTP methods. |
| SOAP | Messaging protocol for exchanging structured data over the internet. It is based on XML and is used to facilitate communication between different applications and systems, especially in a distributed environment. |
| Webhook | Enables applications to provide real-time notifications to other systems by sending an HTTP request to a specified URL when a particular event occurs. |
| XML | Markup language used to encode documents in a format that can be read by both humans and machines. |
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