How to Create Serverless APIs

Humans are innately curious. We tear things apart and put them back together because we’re bored. That’s fuel for a new type of industrial revolution. Instead of small engines powering growth today, information technology is instead. That’s largely thanks to the API. 

There was a time when hosting an API was a complex process. That’s not the case anymore. Services like AWS API gateway can host APIs with little or no infrastructure to manage. They are also pretty cost-effective.  

Today we will discuss how you can become part of the new industrial revolution. That sounds exciting, doesn’t it? You’ll learn how you can create new and exciting apps without a server. You’ll also learn what resources you can use to create a serverless API. 

What is an API?

API is a lovely little acronym for Application Programming Interface. It’s the face, or communication method, for most applications and services today. Understanding what an API is and how it works is both easy and tremendously tricky at the same time. More on that later. 

How do APIs work?

APIs are predefined communication methods. APIs are very structured communication methods as well. Because of this, APIs need to be planned in great detail. 

Think of it this way. No matter which part of the world you’re from or which language you speak, humans are able to communicate in very haphazard ways. We have structured languages. Those structured languages also include a lot of ‘unofficial’ slang. If someone uses slang or jargon in their communication, there’s a good chance we’ll understand what they are trying to communicate even if we don’t understand that slang or jargon. That’s because humans can understand context. Context includes things like body language and an understanding of both implied and unimplied data regarding our conversations. If you and I have a debate over whether cats will ultimately rule the world one day (they will), we bring a plethora of knowledge and experience to that debate. That knowledge is implied in the conversation, whether we realize it.

APIs don’t have that kind of luxury. APIs can’t understand context or read between the lines. APIs aren’t intelligent beings. 

So, when an API is created, software engineers need to know precisely what that API will be used for, what kind of data it needs to send and receive, and how it needs to be structured. 

This process sounds more daunting than it is. 

First, we have a variety of standards that make communicating with APIs easier. We define things like GET, PUT, and POST requests that tell servers what kind of communication we want to use. Those communication methods also state what we intend to do (retrieve data vs. storing or updating data). 

We also have standards for how APIs are structured. This topic is far beyond the scope of this article but researching how REST APIs work is an excellent educational primer. GraphQL has become a popular way of creating APIs today, too. 

Finally, at least for the purposes of this article, each API has a pre-communication method in the form of documentation. API docs are a developer’s best friend. That documentation tells software engineers:

• Where to locate an API

• How to call it

• What kind of data needs to be sent to it

• What type of data is received from the API

• How all of this data is structured

If you want an example of what API documentation looks like, look at Etsy’s API docs. Etsy has good API documentation, and Etsy also sorely needs 3rd party developers to improve its tools. Consider this a pro-tip for an untapped market. Learn how to use APIs with CBT Nuggets and then make the greatest Etsy Seller’s app ever made!

Why are APIs Important?

The industrial boom of the 20th century is credited mainly to the creation of the small engine. Sure, folks like Henry Ford revolutionized processes for factory work, but it’s the machines that made the new age of commerce possible. 

The small engine was perfected to such a degree that even tinkerers could apply it to solve problems. Motorized well pumps were created by enterprising farmers that needed to water crops. Weedwhackers were created by landscapers that needed to get work done faster. Do you see where I’m going with this?

The evolution of the small engine allowed people to create novel, new machines. People had a problem they needed to fix, and they used the small motor to resolve their issues. Small engines allowed a degree of automation that was never seen before in the history of humanity. 

APIs are the new small engine, and they have been refined to the point that even hobbyists can utilize them to create novel, new applications. This may not be the most modern example, but let’s say that you need to create an app for your job that takes audio files and converts them to text. This kind of function could be helpful in a call center. Audio files are not searchable, but text files are. 

It’s not challenging to use Amazon’s API for their transcript services. An enterprising developer could rig up an application that took those MP3 recordings from a call center interaction, convert them to text, and store them in a database. That way, managers can use those previous phone conversations to improve interactions while engineers use that data to improve business processes. 

What is AWS API Gateway?

It should be evident at this point that an API needs a server to run on. APIs don’t know when someone will want to communicate with them, so APIs need to be constantly available. That implies that an API needs to be hosted on a server.

Or does it?

AWS has a tool called API Gateway. API Gateway falls under the umbrella of Amazon’s serverless products. Sure, you could spin up an API under EC2 or Beanstalk, but that defeats the purpose of going serverless. EC2 and Beanstalk applications, including APIs, need to be maintained. API Gateway, on the other hand, works like AWS Lambda. In this case, AWS manages the server, hardware, and everything that powers it. All you need to do is add the functions for your API to work. 

AWS API Gateway is a great tool to build apps with. It doesn’t matter if you are making the next unicorn or solving a problem for the organization you work for. Serverless means there is an implied time and money savings. API Gateway is a quick way to create a serverless API easily. 

Final Thoughts

We’ve learned a lot from this article! We now know what an API is (a structured way to communicate between applications and services), why APIs are important (because APIs are the small engine of the future), and whether you need to host an API on a server (hint: you don’t). There is so much more to learn, however! I’m hoping this article piqued your interest in APIs. APIs are the next big thing that will propel the entire human world forward. APIs are the next small engine, and personally, I’m incredibly stoked to see what all of you come up with over the next few decades. We’re going to be in for a wild ride, and we have APIs to thank for that. 

Are you ready to learn more? CBT Nuggets has an entire online API course specifically designed for newcomers. Once you know how to use an API and play with AWS API Gateway, add some logic to your app with AWS Lambda. Don’t forget to learn how to use AWS S3, too. With S3, Lambda, and API Gateway, you can build huge web applications that don’t require a lick of maintenance or upkeep (other than programming stuff, of course).