Software and data
API
A defined way for two pieces of software to exchange data automatically, without a person copying it from one to the other.
What aPI means in practice
An API is a published set of requests a system will answer. It is what allows a website form to create a job in a management system, or an accounts package to pull payments from a card provider, without anyone retyping anything.
The practical question when buying software is not whether it has an API but what the API can actually do. Plenty of systems offer one that reads data and will not write any, which rules out exactly the automation most businesses want. Ask whether it is included in your tier, as API access is a common upsell, and whether it is documented publicly rather than on request.
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