If you’ve ever worked with no-code tools, you’ve likely encountered APIs. Without them, many of the no-code tools we know and love wouldn’t function. It’d be impossible to integrate data between platforms.
So how do these majestic little helpers work, and what are the basics you need to know about them? Let’s take a look!
1. What is an API?
An API, or application programming interface, is an interface that allows two systems or applications to communicate with one another.
For example, when you’d like to use the data in your CRM system in your marketing platform, you’ll likely need an API to transfer data between these two systems.
So, you can think of an API as a tool that helps software talk to other software, much like an interpreter would if you need to communicate with someone who speaks a different language.
2. Google Sheets API
The Google Sheets API is an interface that allows you to read and write data to Google spreadsheets from external systems or applications.
With the API, you can not only read and write data to spreadsheets, but you can also create new spreadsheets, manage connected spreadsheets, and update your spreadsheet’s formatting.
3. What is a GET Request?
GET is an HTTP request method that allows you to request data from an external data source.
When using it, you’ll send the request to a server that processes your request and sends the data you want.
For example, when using a weather API, you’ll use a GET request to get the weather data for a specific location from an API provider. Likewise, when using the Google Sheets API, you’ll use a GET request to get data from a spreadsheet.
4. What is a POST Request?
In contrast to a GET request that allows you to request data from a data source, a POST request allows you to send data to an external data source.
Here, you’ll send your request to a server, which processes your request and sends the data to the destination.
For example, when using the Google Sheets API, you’ll use a POST request to send data to the spreadsheet.
Together with GET requests, POST requests are the most common forms of HTTP requests.
5. What is an API URL Path?
An API URL Path is a unit of an API that you can call. It consists of an HTTP verb and a URL path.
In simpler terms, an API URL Path is the address you use to access an API, its features, and its data. So, much like a typical website, the API’s Path gives you access to the data you’d like, albeit in another form.
6. What is an API Endpoint?
By now, you know that an API URL Path is the address you use to access an API’s features and data. An endpoint is a specific location where requests are made for specific data.
These endpoints take the form of different URL Paths that provide access to specific resources on a server. Platforms that have APIs available typically have several API endpoints that accommodate requests.
For example, let’s assume you’d like to use the Twitter API to retrieve a specific tweet.
You’ll then use https://api.twitter.com/2/tweets/:id as endpoint. In this endpoint, id will be the unique identifier of the tweet you’d like to retrieve.
Likewise, to access a specific album with Spotify’s API, you’ll use https://api.spotify.com/v1/albums/{id} as the endpoint. In this example, id will be the unique identifier for the album.
7. What are API Parameters?
While an endpoint provides a specific location on an API where you can access a resource, the API parameters are the variables you can use to determine the action you’d like to take on the endpoint.
These parameters influence the data you send or retrieve when using the API.
To illustrate this, let’s look at an example of using the Pushshift API to access Reddit data.
Here, there are several parameters you can use when calling the API. For example, q lets you define a specific search term, ids enables you to get comments by id, and size lets you determine how many results to return.
So, if you’d like to retrieve the latest posts about spreadsheets and limit your results to 25, you’ll use https://api.pushshift.io/reddit/search/submission/?q=spreadsheets&size=25 as an endpoint.
8. What are API Headers?
API Headers represent the meta-data associated with a specific API call. In other words, they provide additional information about the call.
Headers are mainly classified as request or response headers, and some of the most common ones you’ll find include those related to:
- Authentication. These headers contain the authentication information that allows you to access the resource through the API.
- Content-Type. This header indicates the type of data the server sends to the client in the response.
- Cache-Control. Provides information about the cache policy defined by the server for a response. In other words, this header determines how long the client may use a cached version of the resource.
- Accept-Charset. This header tells the server which character sets are acceptable to the client. You’ll typically set this header with the request.
9. What is an API Key?
An API key is a code that is used to identify and authenticate you to access a specific resource. So, you can think of an API key as the username and password you use to access any other website. These API keys take the form of a secret token included in your API call.
Apart from authentication, API keys also perform another vital function. They allow API providers to track how their APIs are used, give them a way to control the utilization of their APIs, and help them secure the data that’s accessed through the API.
Do You Have Any API Questions?
Let us know in the comments! Here at sheet.best, we love everything about no-code, so let’s geek out together!