is a set of clearly defined methods of communication between various software components that allows access to functionality from external systems.
— DevOps for the Modern Enterprise, Mirco Hering
application programming interface (API)
Also answers to API · APIs
7 of our books define this term — and their definitions are worth reading side by side.
Application programming interface.
— Vibe Coding, Gene Kim & Steve Yegge (as “API”)
a description and specification for how to interact programmatically with software.
— Team Topologies, First Edition (as “API (application programming interface)”)
Protocols and tools for building software applications that enable communication and data exchange between different systems or applications.
— Unbundling the Enterprise: Glossary of Terms (as “APIs (Application Programming Interfaces)”)
application programming interface—a way for programmers to automate interactions with our service
— Agile Conversations, in “Chapter 6: The Commitment Conversation”, Douglas Squirrel & Jeffrey Fredrick
A regular API is an application programming interface, a technical term for the way one piece of software interacts with another piece of software programmatically.
— Remote Team Interactions Workbook, in “Chapter 1: Overview: Focus on Remote Team Interactions”, Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais
An API (application programming interface) is a description and specification for how to interact programmatically with software
— Team Topologies, in “Chapter 3: Team-First Thinking”, Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais
See also interface · abstraction layer · access layer · application monolith · bounded context · cloud
Filed under Architecture & Systems