Software developers and API designers are required to pay attention to the overall working of the Apis as a continuation of the integration-based architectures that have long been in use within enterprise IT. But this is a narrow view. Matrix Marketers is a web development company which is using third -party and in -house developed APIs for various applications now.

This post focuses on the requirement of APIs in the web applications that will examine the broader reality, where APIs have become a foundational technology for the Development of robust and scalable enterprise applications. Let’s closely watch the important implications of the movement to API-centric architecture that is underway in enterprise application development.

Latest development is based on API development

The advantage of using APIs in the development process is embraced in the web and mobile applications. APIs work as a connecting bridge between the client and applications and at the same time for the backend for integrating with internal systems. This way the APIs are accessing the front end data and backend data, on the sides for enabling other applications to access their internal data and processes. On the whole, an application comprises a set of component services, linked together with APIs.

The majority of enterprise software development efforts are focused on building web applications using web frameworks. Java Enterprise Edition, Microsoft.NET, Ruby-on-Rails, PHP, and a variety of other technologies are used to implement web applications using model-view-controller (MVC) design patterns and page template technologies. For a decade, starting in the late 1990s, an entire generation of developers has spent the majority of its time building applications in this model.

APIs move to the front end

The advent of Web 2.0 brought a renaissance to rich client development. The incompatibilities and inconsistent implementations of JavaScript began to ease as users updated to the latest browsers. At the same time, renewed competition in the browser market drove more innovation and acceleration of the implementation of web standards.

HTML5 and JavaScript made it possible for much of the interaction to run in the browser rather than to be orchestrated via page-based flows.

Web application developers found it necessary to create APIs to allow communication between the browser and the server.

Over time, these techniques accumulated, with more and more functionality that had previously been implemented in page templates becoming replaced with API calls. The end-result is what’s now called the “single page app,” or SPA. At this point, no user interactions are serviced via page templates. A single web page is served and all interactions are handled via JavaScript, which generates a user interface via HTML5 techniques and libraries such as jQuery. Every user supports the interactions generated by the end user.

With the use of APIs in web applications, some better analytics results to know the information about the usage can be drawn. JavaScript enables detailed observation of where app users spend time and what they are doing within the applications. This analytics can be transmitted to analytics APIs in a constant stream of interaction data.

Mobile forces the issue

In a mobile app, client – server model is executed to return to more strongly delineated API development, where all interactions happen client-side and a constant networked communications mechanism between client and server must be maintained.

For mobile apps, the API-driven UX becomes non-optional. A mobile developer cannot avoid using the interactions to support via HTML and JavaScript versus those driven via traditional page templates.

The client/server communications mechanism in the age of mobile is APIs. In some cases, the same developer is charged with building the server-side and client-side interactions, but in other cases, it became necessary to have specialists building each client implementation. Further, these specialists are often external contractors, digital agencies, or system integrators.

This means that the application development effort needs to have an API project at the heart of it. API design, API security, and API scalability are the three main streams on which the development team of Matrix Marketers is focusing and able to show better results. API security and data applications are becoming the most important topic of API development.

APIs open enterprise applications

Integration architectures are developed in the way that they do not access the internal data of the main application. A consideration to maintain the authenticity of data becomes mandatory in alike applications. Trying to support application-to-application integration was an undue burden for the developer and was usually left as a project for another team.

RESTful API design, JSON-based data, simple versioning, and key-based access control are some common forms of the API generally used in applications means that developers can easily build APIs into their applications and support their usage without undue distraction from their central mission of application delivery. If we see from the applications point of view, An API centric approach architecture enabling rich HTML5/JavaScript can be more suitable especially while developing the mobile applications. The client APIs will be essential elements of the project scope.

Conclusion

When the time comes for application-to-application integration, the need for separate integration middleware is obviated.

Matrix Marketers developers are also using SOA introducing micro services architecture as applications themselves which are built from interconnected micro services wired together via APIs. There’s much more to learn about APIs. But for now, if you are on your way of developing new application, hiring our team for the development would be the right decision.