Wilkes and Wheeler's 1951 book The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer contains the first published API specification.
#Postman download windows 64 how to#
Today, such a catalog would be called an API (or an API specification or API documentation) because it instructs a programmer on how to use (or "call") each subroutine that the programmer needs. This cabinet also contained what Wilkes and Wheeler called a "library catalog" of notes about each subroutine and how to incorporate it into a program. The subroutines in this library were stored on punched paper tape organized in a filing cabinet.
#Postman download windows 64 software#
British computer scientists Maurice Wilkes and David Wheeler worked on a modular software library in the 1940s for EDSAC, an early computer. The idea of the API is much older than the term itself. This origin is still reflected in the name "application programming interface." Today, the term is broader, including also utility software and even hardware interfaces. The term API initially described an interface only for end-user-facing programs, known as application programs. History of the term Ī diagram from 1978 proposing the expansion of the idea of the API to become a general programming interface, beyond application programs alone. While a graphical interface for an email client might provide a user with a button that performs all the steps for fetching and highlighting new emails, an API for file input/output might give the developer a function that copies a file from one location to another without requiring that the developer understand the file system operations occurring behind the scenes.
![postman download windows 64 postman download windows 64](https://rahim-soft.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/How-to-use-Postman-150x150.png)
In building applications, an API simplifies programming by abstracting the underlying implementation and only exposing objects or actions the developer needs.
![postman download windows 64 postman download windows 64](https://www.softwaretestingmaterial.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Install-Postman-Choose-Windows-Version-1024x595.png)
The calls that make up the API are also known as subroutines, methods, requests, or endpoints. A program or a programmer that uses one of these parts is said to call that portion of the API. An API is often made up of different parts which act as tools or services that are available to the programmer. It is not intended to be used directly by a person (the end user) other than a computer programmer who is incorporating it into the software.
![postman download windows 64 postman download windows 64](https://img-blog.csdnimg.cn/20190331131232204.png)
In contrast to a user interface, which connects a computer to a person, an application programming interface connects computers or pieces of software to each other. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation. A computer system that meets this standard is said to implement or expose an API. A document or standard that describes how to build or use such a connection or interface is called an API specification. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. For other uses, see API (disambiguation).Īn application programming interface ( API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other.