What are APIs?

What is an API?

APIs are a set of coded rules which allow two different software technologies to communicate with each other with certain criteria. For example, the Google Maps API and Twitter API may be among the most widely used APIs that let developers write code that posts data to and retrieves data from the provider’s site.

What Does API Stand For?

Application programming interface is better known by its acronym, API. “Application” defines the type of software or technology that is being integrated. “Programming” refers to how the application is created. Typically, a developer from a business or the provider will do this. The “interface” is known as the bridge between software components which allow them to send and receive data based on the set of rules written by developers.

How Do APIs Work?

APIs authorize and grant access to data that users and other applications request. Access is authenticated to a service or portion of functionality using predefined roles that govern who or what service can access specific actions and data. APIs also provide an audit trail that details who and what have had system access and when it happened, according to TechTarget.

What Does an API Gateway do?

An API gateway in an application programming interface management tool which providers can offer to their companies and partners on a cloud platform. The API gateway handles processes such as user authentication.

Plum Voice uses AWS (amazon web services) for their API gateway. This handles all the task requirements needed to process and collect up to a million concurrent outbound, and inbound calls. This also includes the ability to manage traffic, CORS support, authorization and access control, throttling, monitoring and more.

API Cloud Migration

To migrate to the cloud from an on-premise location, APIs allow  applications to integrate together on acloud platform. Plum Voice offers users the ability to easily integrate with their cloud platform no matter the application, and also provides a secure system to maintain data privacy.

API Management

Companies such as Plum Voice offer a variety of API applications. VoiceTrends, a data and analytics toolkit, is built into the Plum Voice platform. It gives users access to data that is collected on their proprietary voice, chat and sms apps.

APIs vs. UIs

There are similarities between APIs and UIs with both being interfaces, but what are the differences between them? 

An API is very much the same thing as a user interface (UI), except that it is geared for consumption by software instead of humans. This is why APIs are often explained in the mainstream media as a technology that allows applications (software programs) to talk to one another. In this context, the terms “software,” “applications,” “machines” and “computers” are virtually interchangeable. For example, APIs are often discussed as being machine-readable interfaces (versus human-readable), according to ProgrammableWeb. 

Plum DEV - API Solutions

Plum Voice has been a leader in VoiceXML (VXML) for over 20 years and continues to maintain and develop in this digital document standard.  VXML gives developers the ability to script their own code for voice applications using the coding language - plain text, PHP, Python, C#, Node, etc. - that they’re most comfortable with to generate the files.