Understand the Application program interface (API)

Understand the Application program interface (API)

Accessing a web-based software application or web utility requires the use of something called an application programming interface (API), which is a collection of programming instructions and standards. A software firm makes its application programming interface (API) available to the general public so that other software developers may create products that are powered by the software company’s service.

For instance, online shopping for electronics, apparel, computers, books, DVDs, and more developed its application programming interface (API) in order to make it simpler for developers of websites to access the product information that Amazon provides. Using the Amazon Application Programming Interface (API), a third-party website may provide direct links to Amazon items with an option to “purchase now” and updated pricing.

An application programming interface, or API, is not an interface that is used by end users. When APIs are used, applications are able to communicate with one another without the need for user involvement or knowledge.

When you purchase movie tickets online and submit your credit card information, the website where you bought the tickets utilizes an application programming interface (API) to transmit your credit card information to a remote application that checks to make sure that the information you entered is accurate.

After the transaction has been successfully completed, the remote application will then transmit a response to the website selling movie tickets, indicating that it is OK to distribute the tickets.

You, as a user, are only presented with a single interface, which is the website for purchasing movie tickets; yet, behind the scenes, a number of apps are collaborating with one another through application programming interfaces (APIs). When software functionalities are transferred from one application to another, seamless integration occurs since the user is not aware that this transition is taking place [source: TConsult, Inc.].

The application programming interface (API) is analogous to the software delivery model known as software as a service (SaaS), in which programmers do not need to begin each new project from the ground up. Instead of designing one core application that attempts to accomplish everything, such as e-mail, billing, tracking, etc., the same program may contract out specific functions to distant software that does it better.­

The Mechanisms Behind Application Programming Interfaces

In general, an application programming interface (API) enables a software program to connect with a distant application via the internet by means of a sequence of calls that may be initiated from either the local or remote application. An application programming interface (API) is an interface because, by definition, whatever describes the method in which two things interact is an interface.

Web services are used to handle the calls going back and forth between apps when using APIs. APIs stand for application programming interfaces. Web services are a group of technical standards and protocols that include XML (Extensible Markup Language), which is the programming language that apps use to interact with one another via the internet.

What exactly is the function of an API?

The majority of the time, a web browser is a medium via which an end user, or a living, breathing person, engages with the digital services provided by a corporation. The information that was requested is then rendered by the service provider into HTML so that it may be shown in the browser.

HTML is a presentation language, and because it is formally quite relaxed (even badly written HTML usually displays quite well in most browsers), it is not at all suitable to be consumed by machines that simply need to exchange data in a reliable manner. This is because HTML is a presentation language.

Instead, the corporation provides a more formal Application Programming Interface, often known as an API, so that it may be accessed and utilized by other apps, such as those coming from a partner, client, or supplier. This might be done in addition to the typical graphical web interface.

Generally speaking, the communication protocol, such as HTTP, as well as the format of the requests (messages sent from the client application) and the replies (messages sent from the server side back to the client), are both sets and described in some type of standard specification.

Common use cases include an online travel booking site that requests information about available flights from more than fifty different airlines, a website that allows you to log in by using your Google or Facebook account, or a customer relationship management system that, when you add a new customer, automatically retrieves credit ratings about the customer from an external subscription-based rating service.

What are the advantages of working with an application programming interface (API)?

An application programming interface, or API, is a collection of computer instructions that outlines how different software components need to collaborate with one another. It enables the separate components to communicate information with one another and also makes it possible to reuse those components in multiple applications.

There are many different applications for application programming interfaces (APIs), but one frequent usage is to provide permission to third-party developers to access the data or functionality of another application.

For instance, Facebook provides developers with an API that enables them to build applications that have access to the data of Facebook users. This makes it possible for developers to build new and unique products without having to begin completely from scratch each time.

One further advantage of using the use of an API interface is that it may assist in lessening the quantity of code that must be created. By reusing code that has already been developed, it is possible to cut down on both development time and expenditures.

In addition, application programming interfaces (APIs) may assist make programs more dependable by cutting down on the number of dependencies they have on outside services. The use of an API interface may, in general, result in various advantages, such as enhanced flexibility, decreased development time and costs, and better dependability.

Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy

Meet Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy, an SEO specialist with a passion for helping businesses improve their online visibility and reach.  From Technical, on-page, off-page, and Local SEO optimization to link building and beyond, I have expertise in all areas of SEO and I’m dedicated to providing actionable advice and results-driven strategies to help businesses achieve their goals. WhatsApp or call me on +94 775 696 867

Understanding an Absolute Link in SEO

Understanding an Absolute Link in SEO

A hyperlink that leads to a complete URL is known as an absolute link. A full URL contains all of the information that is necessary to locate a specific website, page, document, or another addressable object on the Internet.

These items are included in this information: The protocol that should be used, such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) or File Transfer Protocol (FTP), (File Transfer Protocol).

If we are speaking in terms of search engine optimization (SEO), then absolute URLs are greatly preferable to relative URLs. This is due to the fact that relative URLs may be confusing for Google bots, and if we are speaking in terms of less sophisticated bots, then it may not even be crawled.

This information consists of the following: –

  1. The protocol that will be used, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or the file transfer protocol (FTP) (file transfer protocol).
  2. The address, or domain name, of the website where the object being searched may be found.
  3. The directory or subfolder in the domain where the object is being requested may be found if it is located there.
  4. The name of the item’s file, if relevant, will often include the extension that designates the kind of item (HTML file, PDF file, image file, video, etc).

They never fail to be one of a kind. This means that there is one and only one absolute link for each and every individual copy of a document, as well as each and every specific page and directory on the internet. When we talk about optimizing your website so that it can be crawled by Search Engine Bots, we recommend using an absolute URL.

This is because if the bots do not receive all of the information they need about your URL, they may display an error message. This error message could be the cause of an increase in your bounce rate or a loss of visitors.

Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy

Meet Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy, an SEO specialist with a passion for helping businesses improve their online visibility and reach.  From Technical, on-page, off-page, and Local SEO optimization to link building and beyond, I have expertise in all areas of SEO and I’m dedicated to providing actionable advice and results-driven strategies to help businesses achieve their goals. WhatsApp or call me on +94 775 696 867

Pros and Cons of using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Pros and Cons of using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project is an open-source effort that is working toward the goal of making mobile web browsing more efficient. Pages created using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are developed with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, but they are constrained in some ways to optimize speed.

The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) caches from Google, Bing, and Cloudflare offer another option. They don’t simply cache the material; there is a significant amount of pre-optimization that takes place as well. This includes inserting the material directly into the HTML source code, producing a srcset containing only optimized pictures, and pre-rendering certain AMP components.

PROS:

When compared to the desktop version, the performance of the site is much improved. In its most basic form, Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a page that has been streamlined to include fewer widgets, updated JavaScript, and revised HTML. By doing it in this manner, you will immediately see a significant boost in your speed.

It is an option that may prove to be extremely beneficial for websites that are hosted by a poor provider. (It’s not that I endorse utilizing sketchy hosts; it’s just that there are occasions when there is no other choice). When you integrate AMP, you are going to make use of all the best practices there are to make your sites as lightweight and as speedy as they possibly can be. It is self-evident that this will make things simpler for the servers.

Users of mobile devices are in for a real treat. It is quick, it can be scanned, and it does not include an excessive amount of unnecessary information. According to me, AMP is what the internet would be like if everything went according to plan.

It only seems sensible that AMP sites would get a ranking boost in Google’s mobile search results. Note, however, that this only applies to searches performed on mobile devices and not on desktops.

Even though Google has said that Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is not a ranking criterion, Google AMP may still have an effect on SEO by increasing clicks, enhancing user experience, and so on.

CONS:

Tracking the activities of users on AMP sites continues to be difficult. A component for amp-analytics was really published by Google, and it’s not bad at all. Because they are necessary for survival. However, if you are looking for something that is more granular and sophisticated, the component has not yet been perfected.

E-commerce websites do not truly benefit from their adjustability. All AMP best practices are well suited for websites that are published by publishers (like news carousel and stuff). However, other than eBay, I can’t really think of any other instances of online stores that have been successful by employing AMP (which was among the first websites to implement it).

Google has said that they do not employ Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) as a ranking criterion at this time. Yes, it has the potential to be a very significant factor in the long run. However, for the time being, having a mobile-friendly website that is also correctly set up should be sufficient to be ranked.

Given that the great majority of online sites are really just documented, there is often little need for the expressive capabilities that Javascript provides. The use of JavaScript in these papers was for the purpose of implementing relatively simple elements like advertisements and slide displays.

AMP addresses these kinds of use cases by providing standard components that, when included in a document, free it from the need to make use of Javascript to provide the desired functionalities.

It’s possible that some web developers may be disappointed that the independence that Javascript provided will no longer be available to them, but this change is likely unavoidable.

The excessive usage of Javascript has resulted in online sites that were impractically sluggish and laden with advertisements that were unduly invasive, which ruined the experience of reading them. Already, there were signs of a backlash against mobile web use, such as articles housed on Facebook and ad blocking in iOS9.

There are certain websites that were really web apps rather than documents and they were employing Javascript for reasons that are unlikely to be supported by AMP. These web pages are not likely to be supported by AMP.

It will be fascinating to watch how the sustainability of the web as an application platform is affected if Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is effective in achieving its goals.

Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy

Meet Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy, an SEO specialist with a passion for helping businesses improve their online visibility and reach.  From Technical, on-page, off-page, and Local SEO optimization to link building and beyond, I have expertise in all areas of SEO and I’m dedicated to providing actionable advice and results-driven strategies to help businesses achieve their goals. WhatsApp or call me on +94 775 696 867

Is website development outdated now?

Is website development outdated now?

When it comes to web development, I believe it is more up to technological innovation than ever in this world of ever-increasing online users, especially with all the new developers who want to be developers flocking to the field to learn and inject their own secret sauce into projects in order to improve the quality of the projects, tools, and frameworks as a whole.

While I am a relative novice in the subject, seems to be at the forefront of innovation, particularly when considering how rapidly technologies are updated and renovated. Web development technologies are supported by large teams of people who are constantly updating and curating the code.

Take a look at HTML5 in comparison to its predecessors; in fact, check up the history of HTML if you want to see how up-to-date the present version is in comparison to its predecessors.

If you’re asking this question because you’re concerned about your job security, you shouldn’t worry. While I have yet to get a job as a developer, this is mostly due to the fact that I have never sought for or searched for significant freelancing work since I believe this to be a pastime until the code adheres to me like peanut butter.

Although I regularly inform people about my schooling, it is amusing that professional company owners continually express an interest in acquiring my services. If you have a strong background in web development, there is no shortage of work opportunities available to you.

One of the reasons is that having a website has never been simpler or more affordable than it is now. Consider the following: if you want to develop a content website, it is rather simple to do so using WordPress as a platform. Even being technically literate, much alone being a developer, is not required.

The same can be said for an eCommerce shop; there are several off-the-shelf options available that enable consumers to launch their own online company while putting in little or no effort at all.

Taking a professional viewpoint, this kind of anecdotal evidence implies that being successful in the field of web development is getting more challenging. Despite all of the hype around ‘learning to code’ and the digital economy, it’s possible that making websites isn’t the ideal field to enter.

Web creation is becoming less difficult

Those who claim that web development is on its way out may possibly be referring to the fact that there isn’t as much money in it anymore. If freelancers are finding it difficult to charge the prices that they used to, it’s likely that there is someone out there who is willing to do it at a far lower price.

The reason for this isn’t because there’s a new generation of web developers who are able to make a living off of a pittance of compensation. It’s really becoming a lot less difficult. Aside from using platforms such as WordPress and Shopify, the work of creating websites from the ground up (or, at least, from the ground up) is today simpler than it has ever been.

Is the use of templates putting a stop to online development?

Templates simplify the development and design process for web developers and designers. If you had the ability to do much more than drag and drop templates, why would you want to?

If the ultimate product is pleasing to the eye and performs well, why waste effort on anything else? The more you do for yourself, the more probable it is that you will break anything. And the more you break things, the more you’ll have to repair them in the future.

Of course, templates are making it easier for anyone to get into the world of online development and design. And although we shouldn’t be too concerned about new web developers joining the field, it’s reasonable that many seasoned web developers are concerned about what the future may hold for their profession.

According to this viewpoint, templates are not destroying web development, but they are altering the image of the profession in general. For the avoidance of being too dramatic, this represents both a problem and an opportunity for everyone involved in web development. Whatever your level of expertise or inexperience in the sector, these developments imply that individuals will have to adjust their ways.

Web development is not disappearing; rather, it is becoming fragmented

The way web developers will have to adjust is by deciding which route they wish to pursue in their professional lives. Web development as we have known it is, possibly, on its way out of the door for good. Instead, it is fragmenting into specialized areas, such as the design on the one hand and full-stack development on the other side.

This implies that your skillset must be distinctive. In a world where creating websites requires little in the way of technical knowledge or talent, specialized knowledge is essential.

We have reached a point where the web developer no longer possesses the necessary skill set to create an interesting differentiator, particularly if the primary value proposition revolves around artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain, and so on.

Building websites is no longer a surprising skill as we’ve seen, individuals who are capable of doing it are everywhere. A native application, on the other hand, is more difficult to develop.

Building a smartphone application that utilizes computer vision to compare you to Renaissance artworks is considerably more difficult to do. These are the kind of things that will be valued in the future and these are the types of things that web developers will need to learn how to accomplish in order to be successful.

Developer skill expansion and full-stack development are two topics that have come up recently

However, I don’t believe this is entirely correct. Yes, it may be fragmenting, but the breadth of, for example, full-stack development is enormous compared to other approaches.

Full-stack developers, on the other hand, must be familiar with a wide variety of technologies and tools. To distinguish oneself in the job market, as Pierno advises, one must be familiar with machine learning, mobile, databases, and maybe even Blockchain. They must also be familiar with databases and blockchain.

It’s not difficult to see how the ‘web’ portion of web development may be on its way out from under this lens of understanding. We must, to some degree, go into the details of how we use the technology that surround the web as the web becomes more prevalent and less of a rarefied’space’ in people’s lives as time goes on.

Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy

Meet Krishnaprasath Krishnamoorthy, an SEO specialist with a passion for helping businesses improve their online visibility and reach.  From Technical, on-page, off-page, and Local SEO optimization to link building and beyond, I have expertise in all areas of SEO and I’m dedicated to providing actionable advice and results-driven strategies to help businesses achieve their goals. WhatsApp or call me on +94 775 696 867