Like [[Representational state transfer|REST]], [[SOAP]] and [[gRPC]] etc. # Wikipedia > [!INFO] [Application programming interface](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API) > An **Application programming interface** (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build or use such a connection or interface is called an API specification. A computer system that meets this standard is said to implement or expose an API. The term API may refer either to the specification or to the implementation.