AWRA OpsHub Search

Data & Systems · Definition

Application Programming Interface

A defined interface letting one system read from or write to another.

An API exposes specific operations — fetch stock levels, create a purchase order, update a customer — that another system can call programmatically, with authentication and a documented data format.

It is what turns separate systems into one operation. Without it, integration means someone exporting a spreadsheet on a schedule and the data being wrong between exports.

Also called

  • API
  • REST API

See it in AWRA OpsHub

API Guide

Related terms

Webhook

An automatic notification sent to another system when an event occurs.

Rate Limiting

Capping how many requests a client may make in a period.

Third-Party Logistics

3PL

Outsourcing warehousing and distribution to a specialist provider.

E-Invoicing

Issuing invoices in a structured electronic format, often validated by the tax authority.

More in Data & Systems

Anomaly Detection Dashboard Data Hygiene Data Migration Deduplication Idempotency Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Master Data Management (MDM)

Application Programming Interface is not just a definition here

Data & Systems runs on this vocabulary every day in AWRA OpsHub — 19 of our 257 glossary terms describe things the platform actually does.

Take the product tour Book a demo