Welcome.
In this lesson, I'm going to briefly introduce you to APIs.
Break down what they are, how they work, and when they are essential for building automations and
agents in N810.
In the next lesson, I will dive deeper into APIs.
So basically API stands for Application Programming Interface.
But don't worry about the technical name.
It's just a way for different apps and services to talk to each other.
As you can see, this is the definition from AWS.
So what is an API?
APIs are mechanisms that enable two software components to communicate with each other using a set of
definitions and protocols.
What does API stand for?
API stands for Application Programming Interface, as I said, and it acts as a contract of services
service between two applications defining how they communicate using requests and responses.
Policies and how do APIs work?
API architecture is usually explained in terms of client and server.
The application sending the request is called the client, and the application responding is called
the server.
So now let's break down this down into simple terms with some real world examples.
So at the basic level an API works like a request and response system.
So first a client sends a request and this is an app or automation asking for data.
A server processes the request.
So this is the system storing or computing the data.
And finally the server sends back a response and the requested information is returned.
So APIs are everywhere and you are already using them daily.
When you check flights on travel websites, it calls airline APIs to fetch real time ticket prices.
Or, for example, when you order food.
The app requests restaurant menus via an API.
Places the order and tracks delivery updates in N810.
We use APIs all the time to automate tasks.
To wrap up, APIs act as a bridges between apps, allowing them to exchange data.
Every automation and AI agent uses APIs to fetch, send, and process data.
And APIs unlock the power of automation in N810, and this topic is very important.
It's crucial to build automation and agents on any platform using any tools.
If you know how to use APIs effectively, you can connect to almost any software or app that provides
API access.
So now let's dive deeper into APIs and explore them in more detail.