Application programming interface: Difference between revisions
imported>Anderson Osagie (Added Microsoft's CLR as an additional example of an application service abstraction) |
imported>Pat Palmer (non-web-based API's are platform-specific) |
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An '''application programming interface''' (API) is the set of conventions by which a user application program written for a specific purpose communicates with software infrastructure such as the [[operating system]], [[data base management services]], [[web services]], etc. APIs are specific to programming languages, although there may be multiple APIs to access the same service. | An '''application programming interface''' (API) is the set of conventions by which a user application program written for a specific purpose communicates with software infrastructure such as the [[operating system]], [[data base management services]], [[web services]], etc. Non-web-based APIs are specific to programming languages, although there may be multiple APIs to access the same service. | ||
The application service presented may be by a physical computer, or an abstraction such as a [[Java virtual machine]] or a [[.NET]] [[common language runtime]]. | The application service presented may be by a physical computer, or an abstraction such as a [[Java virtual machine]] or a [[.NET]] [[common language runtime]]. | ||
Latest revision as of 20:04, 6 June 2011
An application programming interface (API) is the set of conventions by which a user application program written for a specific purpose communicates with software infrastructure such as the operating system, data base management services, web services, etc. Non-web-based APIs are specific to programming languages, although there may be multiple APIs to access the same service.
The application service presented may be by a physical computer, or an abstraction such as a Java virtual machine or a .NET common language runtime.
User applications, in this context, could serve either human or computer users. A web browser, word processor, or computer game is an application with a human interface. Alternatively, an electrical power grid manager, a missile guidance system or the control of a cardiac pacemaker is an application that serves a computer.
The term "application layer", in Computer networking reference models, refers to the services that support applications, not the applications themselves. APIs provide access to the top of the application layer.