Flora Feltham & Ting Sun - Everything you ever wanted to know about APIs (and weren’t afraid to ask)
Channel: NDF - National Digital Forum
Date: 2017-11-28

Tuesday November 21, 2017 14:00 - 14:25 
Rangimarie 2, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

A quick Google will tell you that APIs are a ubiquitous web technology, and that API stands for Application Programming Interface. You can also find out that Wikipedia defines an API as “a set of functions and procedures that allow the creation of applications which access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service”… …but what does that look when it’s at home? What is an API? Starting with simple questions, this session aims to unpack the important concepts and/or wizardry behind APIs, the darling of modern web technology. Why are they important? How do they work? Why would you use one? What do they look like? Where do we, in New Zealand’s GLAM institutions, most commonly find them? Ting Sun and Flora Feltham will discuss definitions, examples, use-cases, and provide an illustration of everything you may have ever wanted know about APIs using well-known API services provided by local organisations, including Auckland Museum and Digital NZ.


Flora Feltham
Arrangement and Description Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library
Flora Feltham works as an Arrangement and Description Librarian at the Alexander Turnbull Library

Ting Sun
Data Analyst, DigitalNZ
Ting Sun is DigitalNZ's Data Analyst. She works closely with digital content from both DigitalNZ's existing and new content partners, helping to make their NZ digital content easier to find, share and use.