API

We hear the term "API" a lot more these days, particularly when things on the web go wrong. "API Limits Reduced", "API Limits Exceeded" etc.

So what is an "API"?

From what I've read, "API" is a set of codes and rules that allows a program to interact with another program. For example, Amazon.com released its API so that Web site developers could more easily access Amazon's product information. Using the Amazon API, a third party Web site can post direct links to Amazon products with updated prices and an option to "buy now."

TweetDeck and Seesmic are API's that interact with Twitter. If you use Twitter.com you're familiar with how you "do" Twitter. Looks like this:














Now if you use TweetDeck, you can change the way you "do Twitter". It looks something like this:













Well when you use something like TweetDeck, it's a program that is interacting with Twitter, it's databases and such, and bringing you your information through its own interface. The interface is the actual program that you are using on your computer. There are API's for phones, computers, etc, and the app designers have to use certain coding to make it all work.

Now as far as API Limits are concerned, the limit applies to how many times you can get updates from Twitter using the program. Updates mean things like status updates, DM's, @replies, picture posts and such. For argument's sake, using the above "Amazon" example, say a million people were to click on an Amazon like on someone's blog at the same time; the API limit would likely be exceeded, and Amazon would likely suspend the interactions between its own site and that blog.

With things being so busy on Twitter lately, World Cup activity and such, the best way for Twitter to keep its own site from crashing would be to implement ways to slow down traffic (avoiding "over-capacity" and the "Fail Whale" from appearing). One of those ways is to lower the API limit. That's what is currently in effect.

Hope this helps!