Web API

Web APIs are a set of standardized application programming interfaces designed to work and interoperate with web protocols and standards, the term refers to the APIs provided by both a web browser and a web server.
== Environments ==
=== Front end ===
APIs on the front end are meant to work in browser environments as the client side of the world wide web. They are oriented around the programming, interaction, and display of web pages for the browser. Many web API standards offer more features and functionalities apart from the Document, including real-time information messaging using WebSockets, persistent storage with APIs like "localStorage" and "IndexedDB", browser-operating system interactions like file read and writes, and even communicating to devices outside of the browser with "WebHID".
Running Web APIs in the front end requires a JavaScript runtime environment to parse, process, optimize, and execute operations. The most commonly used are Google's V8, Mozilla's Spidermonkey, and Apple's Nitro.
Common front end APIs includes the entirety of the Document APIs, such as the DOM API, Storage Access API, Web Animations, Web Components, WebGL, WebGPU, WebHID, WebRTC, Image Capture API, etc.
=== Back end ===
APIs on the back end are usually more restricted and are oriented to work with external programs and the operating system, this does not mean limited Document manipulation, as the back end are often required to receive, interact, and send webpages as web servers.
Running Web APIs in the back end requires a dedicated JavaScript runtime environment specially made to run directly on the operating system without the browser. The most popular are NodeJS, Deno, and Bun.
Back end APIs are usually served as modules by the runtime or framework the script is ran in, such as node:http, node:fs, and node:process. Most runtimes just use NodeJS' built-in APIs as these are mature and are freely available.
== Standard ==
The most popular and widely-supported standard is ECMAScript, being used in JavaScript, JScript, and ActionScript. All modern web browsers and servers support ECMAScript, and the entirety of the JavaScript developer ecosystem revolves around the features offered by the standard.
==References==
Category:Web development