API Security: What Is It? |
Posted: December 26, 2021 |
API security can be achieved via APIs and API keys, which are two different methods to implement API security, but with a similar approach. API keys have a longer history than APIs, and are more common to use in today’s day to day apps. API keys are easy to create and can be used to authenticate clients or users of your application. This article provides some basics around how APIs work, as well as API key concepts and implementations. In this case brief, we will look at APIs and their keys in an app development process, and how they can be used to build robust applications. The main idea behind APIs is to let other applications access information, data, and content without having to understand how the app is designed or built. An API is an interface, so any application that is using the API must have an interface of its own, that it can use to interact with the API. This is what allows us to build apps with APIs and not worry about the implementation details. We can think of APIs as middle-man applications, like a web browser, which can communicate with other apps or servers via HTTP protocols. It’s important to note that this is just an analogy, as a web browser has a much more complex functionality than a simple API, but the concept is still relevant. The next important point to note is that APIs don’t need to be hosted in the same place as the application that uses it. In fact, an API can be hosted anywhere, including in the cloud or on the user’s device. Moreover, the API doesn’t need to be hosted on the same platform as the application that uses it, as it can be on another operating system, such as iOS or Android. There are two different methods to implement API security, which are API keys and APIs. Both of these methods use a token to authenticate the app, however API keys have a longer history than APIs. For example, in the early days of the Internet, websites were limited to running on a single host or server, which meant users needed to be authenticated by using cookies. This cookie approach worked well for websites as they were not expected to access the user’s data or other content, but this wasn’t ideal for applications.
To make an analogy, think about using a web browser when you first used the internet, and how cookies worked. You would type in your username and password and were logged into your account, however any websites you visit would still need to be validated with your cookie. This cookie-based approach was not ideal, as it required the user to share their credentials across all the websites that they visited. With the advent of APIs, we have seen that this cookie approach has evolved to include tokens. Tokens are like keys that allow apps to identify themselves to the service that they are using. As I have shown in the picture above, APIs can be created and managed by Google, Facebook, Amazon, and other companies and organizations, which gives them a much wider reach than just the ones I mentioned earlier. In fact, these same APIs can also be used by third-party applications, such as those found on the app store. APIs are a very powerful tool to create apps. They allow developers to build apps with a simple interface, which is often referred to as a REST API or Application Programming Interface.
APIs are essential to build and connect modern apps, and should be used where appropriate. While this article focuses on APIs and API keys, it’s important to keep in mind that APIs can also be used to build APIs. In this case brief, we will look at how APIs can be used to build robust applications. The main idea behind APIs is to let other applications access information, data, and content without having to understand how the app is designed or built.
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