title: How to check Bitcoin address balance from my application?
body: <p>How do I check a balance of a Bitcoin address (any, not necessarily mine), let's say in a Java application (or any other language)?</p>
  
  <p>I need a functionality like the one on <a href="https://blockchain.info/" rel="noreferrer">blockchain.info</a> or <a href="http://www.biteasy.com" rel="noreferrer">biteasy.com</a> but I don't want to use their API. Bitcoin is open source, so I thought maybe it won't be so difficult to get the data myself?</p>