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 1. Guides
 2. An introduction to APIs

An introduction to APIs

APIs

About this course

Have you ever wondered how Facebook is able to automatically display
your Instagram photos? How about how Evernote syncs notes between
your computer and smartphone? If so, then it's time to get excited!


In this course, we walk you through what it takes for companies to
link their systems together. We start off easy, defining some of the
tech lingo you may have heard before, but didn't fully understand.
From there, each lesson introduces something new, slowly building up
to the point where you are confident about what an API is and, for
the brave, could actually take a stab at using one.

Who is this course for?

If you are a non-technical person, you should feel right at home with
the lesson structure. For software developers, the first lesson or
two may feel like a mandatory new employee orientation, but stick
with it - you'll get your fill of useful information, too.

Table of contents

 1. Introduction
 2. Protocols
 3. Data formats
 4. Authentication, part 1
 5. Authentication, part 2
 6. API design
 7. Real-time communication
 8. Implementation

CREDITS

Published April 22, 2014


Written by Brian Cooksey. Edited by Bryan Landers and Danny
Schreiber.

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