This article is published by AllBusiness.com, a partner of TIME. What are "APIs?" An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of protocol routines, and tools for building software. APIs allow ...

A set of instructions by which an application program (a complete program that performs a specific function directly for the user) can access the computer's operating system. This term was viewed ...

A programming interface (API) that provides more functionality within one command statement than a lower-level interface. High-level interfaces are designed to enable the programmer to write code in a ...

(1) A public standard for connecting hardware to hardware and software to software. With regard to hardware, it implies that there is more than one brand of product that can be hooked up to the device ...