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Application Programming Interface (API)

A software tool used in software programming that abstracts all the programming steps into a user interface for the developer.
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Description

An application programming interface (API) is a software tool used in software programming that abstracts all the programming steps into a user interface that the developer uses to create applications instead of manually coding all those steps. The API organizes code and makes components reusable for developers. The API has a set of functions and procedures specific to its target service or hardware operating system that enables developers to write applications that will run on the target and access data and features.

The API is a general computing concept that has been around in computer programming for many years and is used ubiquitously wherever software programming needs to happen.

Note that in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 5, 2021 ruled in Google LLC v. Oracle America Inc. that it was fair use for Google to copy approximately 11,500 lines of declaring code from the Oracle’s Java API.