What exactly is an API? How do you use an API? We've just published a full beginner's course about Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel.
This course was created by Craig Dennis, developer educator at Twilio. He teaches what APIs do, why they exist, and what their benefits are. APIs are used all the time in programming and web development so it is important to understand how to use them.
You will get hands-on experience with a few popular web APIs, including APIs from Spotify and Twilio. As long as you know the absolute basics of coding and the web, you'll have no problem following along.
In the first section of the course (Unit 1), you'll learn what an API is and get an overview of how the web works. In the second section (Unit 2), you will start to explore APIs online. You will learn how to use Postman and helper libraries in both JavaScript and Python. In the final section (Unit 3), you will lean how to create a project using an API using both Node.js and Flask.
By the end of the course, you will have a complete understanding of APIs and be able to laugh at the following comic. ?
You can watch the course below or on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel (2 hour watch).
Also, make sure to check out the notes that go along with the video: https://github.com/craigsdennis/intro-to-apis-course/blob/master/course-notes.md