Database APIs

A Database API (DB-API) facilitates communication between applications and databases, retrieving requested information stored on servers . This API acts as the intermediary connecting the two machines, enabling seamless access to various data, from song lyrics to financial details, based on user input.

Database APIs

About Databases

Databases house all of the information we need today. From song lyrics to sensitive financial or medical information, flight times to recipes, everything is stored neatly in a database on a server somewhere.

What is a Database API?

A database API (DB-API) provides the means of connecting an application with a database. The API is the route of communication between the two machines.

How does a Database API work?

Database APIs send out HTTP calls to the server where the database is housed. Then, based on user input, it will retrieve the requested information from within the database, parse it, and return it to the end user’s application.

Who can benefit from Database APIs?

Any developer or web admin that needs access to a large amount of data for their application or site can benefit from a database API. There are a wide variety of use cases, including:

A movie site that lists and allows searching of films by data, actor, genre, etc
A music website for song lyrics, or an application that sorts music based on the user’s preferences
A travel app that offers users information about popular restaurants in the area
Likewise, anyone that has access to technology in the world has benefited from database APIs in some way or another.

Why are Database APIs necessary?

Database APIs connect the world of information. For example, every time a search is performed on Google, a website like Wikipedia or your favorite recipe site, or an application like Twitter or Facebook, an API connects to a server somewhere to send back the answer in real-time.

While it would be possible to reach out to a company and request a spreadsheet providing the information needed, it would then need to be manually implemented into the application. Furthermore, the data would become outdated rather quickly in most cases. APIs remove the need for this work and can provide the most accurate and timely information available from the database when requested.

What can you expect from a Database API?

Database APIs should be cleanly coded, connect securely to a well-maintained and regularly updated database that houses the information needed for the use case, and be encrypted to today’s user and database safety standards.

Are there examples of free Database APIs?

  1. Movie Database (IMDB Alternative)
  2. Edamame Food and Grocery Database
  3. RAWG Video Games Database
  4. IMDB Internet Movie Database (Unofficial)
  5. Free-to-Play Games Database
  6. Worldwide Restaurants
  7. Sky Scanner Flight Search
  8. Movies TV Shows Data (IMDB)
  9. Shazam Core

Database API SDKs

All Database APIs are supported and made available in multiple developer programming languages and SDKs including:

  1. Node.js
  2. PHP
  3. Python
  4. Ruby
  5. Objective-C
  6. Java (Android)
  7. C# (.NET)
  8. cURL

Just select your preference from any API endpoints page.

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