Querying isn’t the only method for retrieving data, sometimes data resources on the internet actually want to give it away in a usable format. Web Application programming interfaces exist to make this happen. A query through an API’s URL is passed and response in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format is obtained, which is highly structured and can look a lot like a dictionary. The concept of a Database-as-a-Service isn’t new. Lots of programmer’s use them. Matrix Marketers has adopted a different approach to making effective use of databases with the help of APIs.

At Matrix Marketers, our goal is simple. We understand the need of accuracy with accessing speed to make databases effective for the applications like eCommerce in which the sensitive data is used to build great applications and sites. That’s why Matrix marketers make use of APIs so to build eCommerce product and price database, with a standardized, normalized data response and query framework. Here the database is not required to be built from the scratch.

Think about it: Managing a database is a startup’s single biggest cost. Scraping that data, cleaning it up, organizing it, and delivering it in an acceptable time can be the biggest problem to solve for a company, In fact, even if you manage to build your own database, scattering SQL statements all over your application will only cause future headaches as your DB undergoes the inevitable schema changes.

API provide significant benefits in terms of reusability of the data and portability of your code, as well as avoiding coupling between your app and the database.

A database API has a standardized form of query and response, data management is always required. And guess what? You can be free from hassles of updations and maintenance. this will lead to exploring new inventions without worrying about the flow of data in an application.

Many modern websites use JavaScript and then make service calls to an API. If you took that approach you would simply have a carefully designed, reusable API layer which can be used in your front-end application.

If you’re worried about API response times especially when considering the options of:

website database, vs
website API database, or
website API,

the differences in response times can be very little. Matrix Marketers API has been optimized to provide responses in sub seconds, while some poorly managed databases could result in multiple second response times.

An extra time and effort are required to build an individual database and maintenance.

Building REST infrastructure for database access

As discussed in previous blogs, REST is not a standard, but an architectural style. A number of ways are available to build REST infrastructure with extended efficiency. Nonetheless, given the operational requirements, the API must provide a common set of services:

Beginners REST services – these services include client server communication, to accept and return JSON messages, converting messages to and from JSON, resource naming, routing services.

Message handling services to take the REST verbs – GET, PUT, POST and DELETE and translate them into the appropriate method calls

Security services – no system is complete without security. You can pass along the database credentials, but they are coarse grained. Table-level access is often way too broad. You need fine grain access control.

Logic services to handle database updates

Performance optimization must be part of the API. These systems must scale and keep up with the usage in a transparent manner. When we are developing databases for the mobile network then we must consider the network bandwidth and speed.

Requirements you should demand from your REST infrastructure vendors

The databases can be manually REST-enabled. However, only the organizations with a lot of backend resources are able to do this effectively. Building the REST-enabled infrastructure is a huge and complex undertaking.

Identification of primary data resources is important in order to maintain an application for a long run. In most of the organizations, SQL is widely used. As you make use of the databases, you face major challenges in terms of maintaining security and infrastructure for critical elements.

The connected enterprise has to be able to react to market opportunities and competition very fast, so the speed of development and maintenance are also the critical factor. These need to be considered independently. The ability to change application quickly is as important as the ability to build them in the first place.

Here are the main benefits of using API in designing databases:

Easy to learn – the documentation provides simple examples, complete documentation

Basic use – single entry point, standard parameters.

Rare misuse – error messaging with possible parameters requirement.

Appropriate to the audience – I talked about such a service with several users, and looked at what the competition was offering.

Conclusion

Making use of APIs for databases is not new but an effective approach to open new ways to build complex future web and mobile applications need a lot of expertise and knowledge of databases. Over a period of time, Matrix marketers have been able to gain efficiency to build database driven web and mobile applications. APIs have definitely revolutionized the way we deal with data especially the user and marketing data. To build new eCommerce or any other database is driven applications by making use of APIs, hire Experts from Matrix Marketers. We are sure to deliver a quality service to you.