What Is an API: Understanding Software Communication
Technology Corrected & verified

What Is an API: Understanding Software Communication

Published by When Notes Fly · View original ↗

An API enables software programs to communicate effectively, detailing REST, GraphQL, and webhooks with practical examples.

What has been corrected on this page?

Every accepted correction to this page is recorded with the exact change, so readers can see how the page improved over time.

  1. 12 July 2026 · corrected by Melik Can Sariyer

    Early use of 'application program interface' is attributed to Ira W. Cotton and Frank S. Greatorex (1968), not E.F. Codd (who is known for the relational model).

    Before

    dates to a 1968 paper by E.F. Codd and colleagues

    After

    The term "Application Programming Interface" dates to a 1968 paper by Ira W. Cotton and Frank S. Greatorex, though the concept existed earlier in the form of subroutine libraries.

    Why: Verified: body text correctly attributes the 1968 coinage of "application program interface" to Ira W. Cotton and Frank S. Greatorex. No stale E.F. Codd attribution remains anywhere on the page (Codd is not mentioned at all, avoiding confusion with his actual, unrelated 1970 relational model work), and the FAQ schema does not reference this history claim. No further changes needed.

    View the full record →

Who checked this page?

1 contributor has checked "What Is an API: Understanding Software Communication" on When Notes Fly. Each name below links to that person's public CitePep profile, where every contribution they have made is listed with the exact change they proposed.

Melik Can SariyerExpert Contributor