Application Programming Interface

an interface that enables a computer application to interact with another computer applicat on. APIs save time because programmers can use predefined functions to make the programs talk to one another rather than having to write them from scratch. A common use of an API is to retrieve data from one system for display or use by another system. An organization will release its API (either publicly or in a controlled fashion to approved developers) so that other software developers can design new services and products. For example the Twitter API allows other application and organi- zations to search, collect, and send tweets. The Brooklyn Museum Collection API can be used to display collection images and data in your own applications.