How Powerful APIs Leverage Cloud Computing
October 9, 2013
Grazed from Terremark. Author: Jeff Medaugh.
Application programming interfaces (APIs) are a hot topic in cloud computing and will likely affect the decisions we will have to make as we deploy applications in the cloud. First a refresher—standard APIs are simple commands that are understood by both the sender and receiver to mean the same thing. For example, if I were to say in English, “sit,” “stay,” or “fetch,” to a well-trained dog we both understand what needs to happen next if the dog is going to earn a treat. It doesn’t matter if I say this to a French bulldog, a German shepherd, or an English mastiff—the command is always understood and executed.
In cloud systems, API standards are necessary so that we can use the same commands over and over again to talk to different systems. We write once (an automation tool, a data request, etc.) and we know that it will work with the many applications and web services we need to connect together for our application infrastructure. There are several API standards in use, but the Representational State Transfer (REST) standard is the most current API standard used in cloud computing…
So when looking for cloud and web services, most users are looking for a RESTful API set—also called a RESTful web service—which is a web API implemented using HTTP and REST principles. REST uses the commands GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE…
Read more from the source @ http://www.terremark.com/blog/2013/10/08/powerful-apis-leverage-cloud-computing/