Web APIs and Cloud Computing (Class 16) - Stephen Cranefield

A way to automate data workflow from one app to another.

Two Types of API
Web Services
Form of middleware relayed via XML.
Rest APIs
Simple and scalable - most common for Web 2.0

REpresentational State Transfer
Architectural pattern - Resources, relevant to your applications, have URIs. We use standard set of operations to a URL to instruct server what to do with the resource we want.

Cloud Computing
"We don't really care what's in the middle, so long as it works." Flickr is a great example of Cloud Computing as a service.

The cloud is...well, no one really knows. But, this may help: "a way to increase capacity or add capabilities on the fly without investing in new infrastructure, training new personnel, or licensing new software. Cloud computing encompasses any subscription-based or pay-per-use service that, in real time over the Internet, extends IT's existing capabilities." More here. Interestingly, most of the definitions focus on selling parts of the cloud. Yet, this is obviously not the case with "free" services (such as Google, Flickr...). I would suggest that cloud computing is that computing which is done virtually - i.e. you only need an access point to the network and, whilst you "stuff" is physically stored somewhere, you neither need to know nor care where it is; as long as you can connect to the internet you can find your stuff...