Our guide to APIs and why they matter

It's the buzz word everyone seems to be throwing around these days: APIs. How much do you actually know about this catchy acronym?

What is an API?

API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface.

At a high level, it is a software intermediary that allows two or more applications to communicate with one another and share data.

APIs are behind the scenes often in our everyday lives—more than you may imagine. They're powering everything from financial institutions, like banks to check credit cards, accounts and more, to streaming services, like Spotify and Netflix to access content. Many web applications leverage APIs to connect user-facing material with all important back-end functionality and data.

How do they work?

APIs allow these different applications to talk to each other through a set of standardized instructions. These rules allow retrieval and interpretation of a particular set of data from one system without needing to understand the source code of the other system.

There are a couple types of API architectures out currently in the market:

• REST (REpresentational State Transfer) -This is the most popular type of API for web services. REST APIs adhere to six architectural constraints or principles to be considered "RESTful", including uniform interface, statelessness, cacheability, client-server decoupling, layered system architecture, and code on demand. This style makes data available via HTTP / URL web addresses after receiving a request. Responses often return in JSON (Javascript Object Notation), XML, or HTML formats.
  
  
• GraphQL - Originally starting off as a query language for APIs, this is quickly becoming the new standard for API architecture. This type of API allows for multiple data points to be called at once in a single request.
  
  
• Webhooks - These are lightweight APIs with one-way data sharing triggered by certain events. They are sometimes called "reverse APIs" as they push or send data rather than waiting for a request like REST or GraphQL.

Other API architectures include SOAP (Single Object Access Protocol) and RPC (Remote Procedure Call).

Benefits of APIs

APIs are everywhere and play an increasingly critical role in our interconnected world. For both businesses and users, there are huge benefits to incorporating APIs including:

• Better connectivity and productivity
• Decreased development time
• Decreased operational costs
• Enhanced user experiences
• Increased competitive advantage

APIs at Anduin

All this talk of APIs is great, but does Anduin have API functionality? We are about to!

Anduin's expert team of engineers has been hard at work building, testing, and bringing APIs to life for Fund Subscription and Data Room starting in July 2022. Join our emailing list to be the first to hear about our API developments here. 

Ready for more?
Contact our team to see if you can benefit from APIs →