In this chapter, we’re going to take a higher-level look at Web APIs and their place in the larger ecosystem. Web APIs have become a ubiquitous part of technology today, and it is very likely that most developers will be tasked with either writing their own API or using another API at some point in their career. Therefore, a larger understanding of Web APIs is a very useful skill to build.

We’ll look at some of the other aspects of Web APIs beyond just the RESTful architectural style, including how to handle authentication, documentation, and more.

Some of the key concepts and terms that will be introduced in this chapter are:

• Web API
• Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
• Endpoint
• XML Schema