What in the ever loving fuck is an API?

Your co-worker says, “The app needs to consume an API.”

You nod. You don’t get it.

You Google. It’s all jargon!

You give up, because who’s got the time to read and learn all that?

Here’s the short version.

API stands for Application Programming Interface — but that doesn’t help much, now does it?

Imagine you’re at a restaurant. You place your order with the waiter. They carry your request to the kitchen. They bring you the result.

An API is like that waiter, but for software.

It takes your request, processes it, and returns something useful — like weather data, a login confirmation, or your latest messages.

APIs are digital services waiting to serve you on demand.

Pretty cool.

APIs will do the “cooking” for you, but it may ask for the right "ingredients" first.

Maybe you’re feeling brave and would like to try for yourself.

👉 https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com

Scroll to the “try it” section and click “Run script.”

You did it! You consumed an API.

Not too bad, was it?

APIs let developers build on each other’s work, instead of starting from scratch. That’s how the internet grows.