Application Program Interface
SOFTWARE INTERFACE BETWEEN COMPUTERS AND/OR PROGRAMS
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<
programming> (API, or "
application programming
interface")
The
interface (calling conventions) by which an {
application
program} accesses
operating system and other services. An
API is defined at
source code level and provides a level of
abstraction between the
application and the
kernel (or
other privileged utilities) to ensure the
portability of the
code.
An API can also provide an
interface between a {high level
language} and lower level utilities and services which were
written without consideration for the
calling conventions
supported by compiled languages. In this case, the API's main
task may be the translation of parameter lists from one format
to another and the interpretation of
call-by-value and
call-by-reference arguments in one or both directions.
(1995-02-15)