What is an API?

API - stands for Application Programming Interfaces - they are a series of instructions and standards for the provision of a service, application or tool.

In essense it offers the ability to utilise large online applications to extend and enrich websites beyond their normal capabilities.

With the birth of HTML5 several high level APIs are now available like drag and drop, geolocation etc that are available within the browser - so are not tied to a specific company like Google, facebook or Amazon etc