Book Image

Introduction to Programming

By : Nick Samoylov
Book Image

Introduction to Programming

By: Nick Samoylov

Overview of this book

Have you ever thought about making your computer do what you want it to do? Do you want to learn to program, but just don't know where to start? Instead of guiding you in the right direction, have other learning resources got you confused with over-explanations? Don't worry. Look no further. Introduction to Programming is here to help. Written by an industry expert who understands the challenges faced by those from a non-programming background, this book takes a gentle, hand-holding approach to introducing you to the world of programming. Beginning with an introduction to what programming is, you'll go on to learn about languages, their syntax, and development environments. With plenty of examples for you to code alongside reading, the book's practical approach will help you to grasp everything it has to offer. More importantly, you'll understand several aspects of application development. As a result, you'll have your very own application running by the end of the book. To help you comprehensively understand Java programming, there are exercises at the end of each chapter to keep things interesting and encourage you to add your own personal touch to the code and, ultimately, your application.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)

What is an API?

The term Application Programming Interface (API) is a specification of protocols, procedures, and services that can be used as building blocks by a programmer to implement a required functionality. An API may represent a web-based system, operating system, database system, computer hardware, or software library.

In addition to that, in everyday life, the term API is often applied to the system that implements the specification. For example, you might be familiar with Twitter APIs (https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs) or Amazon APIs (https://developer.amazon.com/services-and-apis), or you might have worked with devices (sensors) that are able to respond to a request by providing the data (measurement results). So, when programmers say we can use an Amazon API, they mean not only the description of the provided procedures, but the services themselves.

In Java...