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API

  • Glossary

「API」

This glossary explains various keywords that will help you understand the mindset necessary for data utilization and successful DX.
This time, we will explain about "APIs," which will be the key to future cloud and data utilization.

What is an API?

API (application programming interface) is an​ ​interface that allows external access to​ ​the functions (and status) of various software, such as applications, operating systems, cloud services, and middleware.
The term API itself is abstract, but it can refer to a variety of specific situations. These days, it is often used to describe externally accessed cloud services such as Web APIs.

"API" is a bit difficult to understand

It is not something that people use directly

Because APIs are not directly used by people, they can be difficult to understand intuitively. In normal use, they are not functions that can be seen on a screen, but rather​ ​functions behind the scenes of IT systems that are not directly visible to those who do not program.

  • GUI, etc.: The interface that allows people to use the software
  • The interface that allows applications (programs) to use the software

For humans, it is easier to understand and more convenient to have a visual display on the screen, which can be operated with a mouse and keyboard and which allows you to send and receive emails, but if you want to call up and use the same functions from an external program, a different interface is required.

"Such mechanisms in general"

An API is the name given to "such mechanisms in general." Even when you use IT on a daily basis, APIs are actively working behind the scenes, even if you don't see them directly.

When using a Windows app, the app calls Windows functions via the "Windows API" to, for example, draw on the screen, read and write files, and read keyboard and mouse operations. Similarly, Android apps run using various Android APIs. Not only the OS has APIs, but programming languages also have APIs. For example, when programming in Java, you call and use various library functions via Java APIs.

Even when you are using IT in your everyday life, "API calls" like this are being used behind the scenes, allowing separately developed software to work together.

Nowadays, APIs are being provided as a way to use cloud service functions externally. These APIs are also called "Web APIs" because they are called via the web (internet). For example, if you want to use kintone functions from an external application, you can call them via the kintone API. This allows you to use the cloud and external IT systems together.

It is not a specific "technical method"

An API is "a general term for such a mechanism," and does not depend on the technology used to realize it.

These days, "REST APIs" are often used to call cloud services. REST APIs use the same communication methods as normal web browsing (such as https) and use data formats derived from web technologies such as JSON. However, REST APIs are not the only APIs; APIs that use XML were also widely used in the past, and there are also APIs used for file sharing and for transferring data via email attachments.

"Officially provided" interface to the outside world

An API is also a "statement to the outside world" that it can be used from outside in accordance with a specified procedure.

For example, it is possible to directly access a database used within an application to read data, or to operate via a screen using RPA, but such usage is not "guaranteed usage of the product." The difference with APIs is that the application side declares "that it wants you to use it in that procedure."

How APIs can help

IT can be integrated and automated

By utilizing APIs, you can combine and use various software and cloud services. You can also automateIT from outside. Also, because it is an officially provided interface, you can expect it to work stably and properly, even when using methods such as RPA to automate things later.

We can provide a "platform"

Furthermore, providing an APIallows third parties to use it as a platform for their activities, and you can expect that they will use the software and services you provide as a platform. For example, AWS provides a variety of services via APIs, and various applications are developed using these services as a platform.

Division of labor is possible

Things to keep in mind when using APIs

The following assumes a situation where cloud services and the like are called and linked via API.

Need a way to call and utilize APIs

While APIs offer great potential, they are not designed for direct user use. They require the means and personnel to call and utilize APIs, such as programming. This requires either securing in-house engineers or implementing tools that allow APIs to be called without coding(such as EAI, ETL, or iPaaS).

The required API may not be available

There are cases where the function you want to use is not provided as an API. In fact, the service itself may not provide an API. For example, it is common to want to read and write Excel files, and business systems may need to be integrated with older systems such as mainframes, so you may need to use other methods as well.

Using the API itself can be quite difficult

Not all APIs are easy to use or understand. Sometimes the development work itself can be difficult, due to technical documentation being hard to understand or the API itself being difficult.

In practical terms, using an API requires reading technical documentation that explains how to use the API, understanding how to use it, and then creating the processing. If you use a simple integration tool, you may find yourself stuck because it does not have the capabilities to achieve this.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to continually respond to API version upgrades (which may result in changes to specifications and behavior).

Leveraging APIs to do business-critical things

It is necessary to consider what APIs can and cannot do, what they can and cannot process efficiently (such as taking too long to process), and also understand what is desirable from a business perspective, and then find and implement what will produce results.

Utilize APIs with "connecting" technology

DataSpider, a leading EAI product in Japan that enables data integration without coding, can solve the above-mentioned problems associated with using APIs as follows:

It can be developed without coding and can also be used as an in-house tool for engineers.

With DataSpider, you can call and utilize APIs without coding. It also has the ability to create full-scale systems, so it can be used as an in-house tool for engineers.

There are ways to connect other than APIs

It has the ability to connect to a wide variety of destinations, such as being able to link to Excel files simply by placing an icon, and also having a function to link with mainframes.

It has both the ability to build and a dedicated connection adapter.

It has advanced development capabilities comparable to full-scale development using a programming language. It also comes with a "dedicated connection adapter" that can be used immediately and conveniently without the need for such development. For example, if you use the kintone adapter, you can use API integration by "simply placing an icon on the GUI and setting it up" without having to understand the kintone API and develop it yourself.

Ability to create through trial and error

The needs that an IT system should fulfill are not easily understood through prior analysis, and many things are inevitably discovered and noticed while using the system in actual business operations. Because integration can be created without coding, development can continue on-site as the system is used, leading to more desirable IT utilization.

Related keywords (for further understanding)

  • EAI
    • It is a concept of "connecting" systems by data integration, and is a means of freely connecting various data and systems. It is a concept that has been used since long before the cloud era as a way to effectively utilize IT.
  • ETL
    • In the recent trend of actively working on data utilization, the majority of the work is not the data analysis itself, but rather the collection and preprocessing of data scattered around, from on-premise to cloud. This is a means to carry out such processing efficiently.
  • iPaaS
    • A cloud service that "connects" various clouds with external systems and data simply by operating on a GUI is called iPaaS.
  • REST API
  • JSON
  • File Linkage
    • By going through a file, it can also be used as a way to reduce dependencies between the caller and the callee.
  • Cloud integration
    • Using the cloud in conjunction with external systems and other cloud services. In order to successfully introduce and utilize cloud services, achieving cloud integration is often as important as introducing and utilizing the cloud itself.
  • Excel Link
    • Excel is an essential tool in the use of IT in the real world. By effectively linking Excel with external IT, you can make the most of Excel's strengths while smoothly promoting IT use.
  • No-code/Low-code

DataSpider trial version and free online seminar

"DataSpider," which we offer, is a leading EAI product in Japan that has been developed in-house and is also active in utilizing APIs.

Unlike regular programming, development can be done using only the GUI (no-code), without writing any code, and it offers "high development productivity," "full-fledged performance that can serve as the foundation for business (professional use)," and "ease of use that can be used by those in the field (even non-programmers can use it)."
It can smoothly solve the problem of "connecting disparate systems and data," which is hindering not only data utilization but also the successful utilization of various IT technologies such as cloud computing.

We offer a free trial version and hold online seminars where you can try out the software for free, so we hope you will give it a try.

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