Question

I am planning to write an API using PHP and and I am very interested in HTTP protocol type of API that exists but I don’t know what people call that type of API. I think you can point me towards the best guide if I let you know how I want the developers to use it.

Assuming there are following functions.

1. Login
2. SignUp
3. GetRequests

Now the Login should take 2 parameters Username and Password of the user that exist in the database. It should then return a token which will be used to request other resources like “GetRequests” function. So once the user has the token, s/he can call “GetRequests” passing the token and will get the information.

The SignUp function works the same way as login but the input parameters are different. It also returns a token and can be used to make other requests for resources.

There are many other functions but I believe these are enough to get an idea of what type of API I am talking about. Can you please guide me as which Tools or Frameworks I can use to develop this sort of API quickly and easily.

Answer 1

You don’t need any specific tools or frameworks to write such a thing or to put it another way, you can use any framework you want. A typical web API “function” works just like an ordinary web page, the only difference is that is doesn’t accept cookies (and other browser-specific http headers) and usually returns its output as xml or json rather than html.