The API platform opens the field of possibilities in the field of computer development. It allows the creation and integration of software applications.
The API Platform back-end framework was built to allow IT developers to create apps and web services based on existing APIs. It simplifies and accelerates not just the creation of RESTful APIs, but also the management of the API lifecycle, which includes viewing, documentation, testing, and packaging.
What is the purpose of API Platform?
Platform API includes a PHP library (Core). This enables the building of full hypermedia web APIs (or GraphQL), which then support industry standards such as JSON-LD with Hydra, OpenAPI, and others. There are also JavaScript tools for developing front-end web and mobile applications. These examine the API documentation or any other Hydra or OpenAPI-compatible API. Finally, the API platform includes Docker and Kubernetes definitions for rapid development and cloud deployment.
The latest distribution of Platform API contains:
- The API skeleton, including the Core library, the Symfony framework (optional) and the Doctrine ORM (optional) ;
- The client framework for developing Next.js web applications based on the API documentation (also supports Next.js, Vue, Create React App, React Native, Quasar, and Vuetify) ;
- An administration interface on top of React Admin, dynamically created through the analysis of the ;
- Tools for creating real-time and asynchronous APIs using the Mercury protocol;
- A version of Docker to start a functional development environment in one command that provides containers for the Next.js API and web application;
- A Helm table that can be used to deploy the API to any Kubernetes cluster.
Web services interoperability: How Esokia manages API integration
What is an API?
The API simplifies the construction of client-side software by acting as a communication protocol between a client and a server, which are then linked by a form of "contract." It accomplishes this by providing a collection of functions that enable applications to get information by interacting with a variety of elements:
- External software components;
- Operating systems ;
- Or microservices.
In concrete terms, when a client sends a request in a given format, the server responds in the same format or performs a specific action.
How to use an API in IT development?
The API is a kind of menu on which the developer can utilize each operation, each of whose functions are specified in detail. The developer no longer needs to figure out how, why, or when the "Save as" button on an application should be installed: all he has to do is choose it, and it will be installed!
Be aware that this rule isn't set in stone, and the API isn't a static component. A developer can also tweak an API in the field by giving his own data.