What is an API?
user
An API is a standardized system that allows other programs to interact with it.
assistant
Why would someone want an API on their website?
user
They would want it for many reasons, including: They want to provide a consistent experience for different people or programs, they want to provide access to their data, and they want to make it easier for other people or programs to share data with them.
assistant
How do you create an API?
user
You can use a computer program called a “Framework”.  Different Framework are specialized for different types of data and programming languages.
assistant
And how do you put an API on your website?
user
You can “host” it on your server or in a "cloud" provider like Google App Engine or Amazon Web Services, so that other people or programs can access it over the internet.
assistant
Are APIs secure?
user
Some APIs are, but some aren’t.  Usually the more effort you put into security, the more secure your API is.  If you don’t do security, you could leak your private data, or introduce security vulnerabilities.
assistant
Are companies hesitant to use APIs because they worry there could be a data breach?
user
Many companies are concerned about privacy and security.  If you create a service with data that is important to people and companies, you should use the best security you can.
assistant
What is an API?
user
An API is a standardized system that allows other programs to interact with it.
assistant
Why would someone want an API on their website?
user
They would want it for many reasons, including: They want to provide a consistent experience for different people or programs, they want to provide access to their data, and they want to make it easier for other people or programs to share data with them.
assistant
How do you create an API?
user
You can use a computer program called a “Framework”.  Different Framework are specialized for different types of data and programming languages.
assistant
And how do you put an API on your website?
user
You can “host” it on your server or in a "cloud" provider like Google App Engine or Amazon Web Services, so that other people or programs can access it over the internet.
assistant
Are APIs secure?
user
Some APIs are, but some aren’t.  Usually the more effort you put into security, the more secure your API is.  If you don’t do security, you could leak your private data, or introduce security vulnerabilities.
assistant
Are companies hesitant to use APIs because they worry there could be a data breach?
user
There’s always a risk, but most companies use secure APIs when it’s worth it.  If there’s too much risk or the API isn’t very useful, they usually don’t use it.
assistant
What is an API?