Many businesses today provide a lot of data from their own apps or websites. Businesses obtain most of the data they provide from external systems. For example, weather or location information is provided on news sites. This information is mostly provided by obtaining from APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Developers integrate APIs into applications to get data through them. Then a question will come to mind. What is API integration?
With the single API integration, developers can transfer data from this API. With the data transfer process, they can provide unique experiences to their users. In this article, we will find the answer to the question of what API integration is. Then we will mention many questions about API integrations.
Table of Contents
What Is API Integration?
API integration is a connection that allows different applications or software components to communicate with each other. Using an API, an application can share certain data with other applications or retrieve desired data from another application.
What Are the Advantages of API Integration?
API integration is a process. This process has multiple advantages for developers and businesses. Some of these advantages are as follows:
Automated process: With API integration, developers do not manually obtain the data they need. For this, they perform API integration and automatically obtain the data they need. This allows for faster and more efficient data transfer.
Better user experience: API integration can increase the capabilities of applications. This increases the satisfaction of users who use these applications. For example, an e-commerce site can integrate an API that provides weather data into its system and aim to sell products to its users according to the weather conditions in their location.
Faster and more accurate decisions: API integration enables businesses and developers to make faster and more accurate decisions. Because data is processed and reported faster and more accurately.
What Are the Steps of the API Integration Process?
Integrating an API into a system has end-to-end chains of responsibility. It includes multiple steps. The implementation of each of these steps may differ depending on the domain and the business. But basically, it is very important not to go beyond the rules.
Today, the steps followed in the integration of an API into any system are mostly as follows.
- Choose the API
- Obtain API credentials
- Develop the integration code / Use integration platforms
- Test the integration
- Deploy the integration
- Monitor and maintain the integration
What Are the Ways of the API Integrations?
There may be many paths that developers follow when performing API integration. Among these ways, custom API integrations and API integration platform options are very popular.
Custom API Integrations
Custom API integrations are traditionally known as writing the integration codes of the APIs that the developers want to include in the system. The integration of each targeted API into the system is handled separately.
Today, APILayer, the API marketplace where developers and businesses can find multiple free APIs in the categories they need, provides its users with excellent documentation for the custom API integration process. Each API listed in APILayer has its own API documentation. In this API documentation, intrusion codes for multiple programming languages are provided for API integration.
As an example, the API integration code examples in the documentation of the numverify API, which is the number verification API listed under APILayer and used by international companies such as Huawei and HomeAdvisor, are as follows.
API Integration Platforms
API integration platforms are software tools designed to facilitate API integration for developers. They were developed to speed up and facilitate data transfers between API providers and API users.
API integration platforms provide visual interfaces to developers or non-technical people. Thanks to these interfaces, users can easily handle the integration process.
In addition, API integration platforms provide users with many pre-built integration solutions. Users can quickly start using these integration solutions and exchanging data.
Conclusion
To sum up, API integration is a cross-system connection with multiple advantages. Developers enable different systems to exchange data by developing APIs or integrating APIs into applications. There are many methods for performing the API integration that performs these exchanges. Businesses and developers perform API integration by choosing the most suitable option that will meet their needs.
See our products for custom API integration, and don’t miss the integration code examples of multiple programming languages.
FAQs
Q: What Is the API (Application Programming Interface)?
A: APIs are functions that allow applications to access data and interact with external software applications, operating systems, or microservices. Simply the API forwards the user request to the system and the system responds to the user. Using any middleware integration tool, software developers can include their applications in the data flow. There are different integration solutions such as XML, RESTful, and SOAP.
Q: What Are the API Integration Platforms?
A: API integration platforms, API integration tools, facilitate API integration by providing tools designed for API integration. They provide middleware integration tools to speed up and facilitate data exchange between API providers and API users. Some popular API integration platforms are as follows:
- Zapier
- Integrator
- Microsoft Flow
- Workato
Q: Which of the API Integrations Is the Most Popular?
A: There are many API integration ways nowadays. Among these ways, users mostly prefer to use an API integration platform. This platform provides speed and convenience to businesses and developers in their business processes.
Q: Are Integration Codes Available for each API Listed in APILayer?
A: Yes, there are. Each API listed under APILayer has integration codes for today’s popular programming languages. JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, Java, Ruby, and C# are just a few of them.
Q: What Information Does the API Documentation of Each API in APILayer Contain?
A: Each API under APILayer has detailed documentation. This API documentation contains detailed information about the relevant API. Like API description, authentication, error codes, integration codes, and more. Developers of these APIs frequently update them according to new development updates.
