What This Article Covers
When reading IT news, you will often come across expressions like these.
- “We have released a new API.”
- “We support API integration with external services.”
- “We connect various services through APIs.”
If you are not a developer, API is probably a term you have heard at least once, but it can be difficult to explain exactly what it means.
So why do companies place so much importance on APIs?
You Don’t Need to Build Everything Yourself.
Imagine that someone living alone needs a drill or a power tool.
A drill is not something people use very often. Buying one for a single use can be expensive, and storing it can also be inconvenient.
That is why many public libraries and community organizations offer Library of Things or tool-lending services. You can borrow a tool when you need it and return it when you are finished using it.
Online services are not much different.
It takes a lot of time and money for every company to build its own map service, collect weather information, and manage data from every financial company.
APIs allow companies to connect to well-built functions or data and use them when needed.
In other words, an API can be understood as a way to connect to what you need and request it when you need it, rather than building everything yourself.
APIs We Use Every Day
APIs are used around us far more often than you might think.
🌤 Weather Services
When you open a weather app on your smartphone, the app does not observe the sky itself to tell you the weather.
Most weather apps receive data from meteorological agencies or weather information providers through APIs and show it to users.
This allows us to always check the latest weather information.
👤 Easy Login
You have probably seen buttons such as “Continue with Kakao,” “Log in with Naver,” or “Sign in with Google” on a sign-up screen.
You can log in without signing up again because each service securely exchanges login information through APIs.
This allows us to conveniently use various services without creating a new ID and password each time.
💳 Financial Data Aggregation Services
Recently, financial apps have allowed users to view information from multiple banks, credit card companies, and securities firms together on a single screen.
In the past, users had to log in separately to each financial company, but now they can check various types of financial information in one place.
This is also possible because the necessary information is connected through APIs provided by each financial company.
Why Do Companies Make Their APIs Available?
In the past, a company developed most of the functions it needed itself.
Now, connecting to services that are already well built is often faster and more efficient.
Instead of building its own map service, a company can use a map API,
integrate a payment API instead of developing a new payment system,
and use an existing authentication service rather than implementing the login function itself.
This can reduce development time and costs and help companies provide more stable services.
Companies can also make their APIs available so that other companies can use their services, creating an ecosystem connected to more services.
We may think we are using a single app, but in reality, countless services are connected to create one experience.
Maps and weather, login and payments, financial information and AI.
We may not see them, but countless connections exist behind them.
The next time you come across the term “API integration” while reading IT news, think of it as technology that connects one service to another.
