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Application Programming Interface (API) is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer then puts the blocks together. An API may include specifications for routines, data structures, object classes and variables.
An API specification can take many forms, including:
- an International Standard such as POSIX,
- vendor documentation such as the Microsoft Windows API,
- the libraries of a programming language - e.g. Standard Template Library in C++ or Java API.
An API differs from an ABI (Application Binary Interface) in that the former is source code based while the latter is a binary interface. For instance POSIX is an API, while the Linux Standard Base is an ABI.
Source: Wikipedia (Application Programming Interface)
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