April 16th, 2024 - Eric Jin Cheng | 8 minute read
Thank you for stopping by! When I first joined Product Management, it seemed as though there was a vast amount I didn't know, such as technologies, development frameworks, and product concepts. Fortunately, I had the support of wonderful managers, engineers, developers, designers, and other product managers who helped me learn and grow to where I am today!
I'm Eric - also known as EJC. I am a product enthusiast, and my goal with this series of articles is to teach you topics every product manager should know, in bite-sized pieces under 10 minutes.
Let’s dive in: APIs. We’ve all heard of it, but do we really know what it is or does?
The term "API" is often everywhere, you have likely heard it brought up in tech discussions and product dev meetings. But what exactly is an API, and why is it so important in the realm of software development?
In this article, I’ll break down the concept of APIs, explore their functionality, explain how they operate both conceptually and technically, and provide examples to strengthen your understanding.
API stands for Application Programming Interface.
<aside> 💡 Application: Any software that has a specific functionality or purpose.
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<aside> 💡 Interface: Contract or protocol that dictates how to 2 applications talk to each other using requests and responses.
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An API acts as a bridge that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other without revealing their internal operations. It defines a set of rules and protocols that enable integration and data transfer and exchange between different systems, regardless of their underlying architectures or languages.
Essentially, APIs enable collaboration and synergies, allowing developers to expand on existing platforms.