API, Application Programming Interface, allows one computer program to communicate with the other.

An API is supposed to establish a request format or frontend GUI application which in turn to communicate with one or may other  programs. These APIs create a platform to make easier working with other applications, and allow programs to communicate across different computing platforms.

There are many types of APIs:

• RPC: remote procedure calls, calling a stored procedure at the remote or  distant end.
• SQL : standard query language, queries and displays the result from a database.
•  FTP: file transfer APIs,  to upload and download files
• Message delivery APIs, which pass messages between programs and users.
• Multi-Media APIs, provide streaming of graphics and sound, add networking capabilities, handle security and data translation, and so on.
  
  These APIs can be a commercial software package or open source component from distinguished vendors.

In the current series of documents, mostly open sourced or community editions of APIs were used.

• Oracle Corporation : The community version of Oracle database  8.0, 10g, 11.2g and 11.2 application, MySQL data-base were used (Thanks to Oracle Corp.). The iSQL API was dropped out in 11.2g and Oracle corporation introduced SQL Developer API which I found very robust and user's friendly. For the Java developer, I found extensive support for JDeveloper, with I used JDeveloper with Oracle10g, and (for a change) I used PHP to interact with Oracle11.g database. I created customized short RPC APIs with PHP to perform SQL query and data-manipulation. 
• Macromedia and Visual Studio 6.0 were commercial edition, used in the archived documents.
• Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2008, 2010 were used to develop ASP.NET C++, C# WPF and C# commands (Thanks to Microsoft Corporation)
• PostgreSQL: I personally feel that  PostgreSQL and MySQL are most friendlier DB packed with command-line or web API to practice SQL or  PL/Queries. Especially, PostgreSQL 9.2 and up is packaged with Apache 2.2 server and PHP engine, for windows and Linux OS.

Java, ASP.NET, C/C++ in Linux/Ubuntu 12.0 (A past to present Series) Platforms : Java, ASP.NET, C/C++ , RDBMS (Oracle, MySQL, SQL-Server, PostgreSQL) .

• Microsoft Corporation:

  NT4.0 To Windows 2000: A land mark inclusion of MTS to Windows's 2000.
  Office Automation Visual studio :  displaying Microsoft Excel over a browser .
  

   

  • Visual Basic , 5, 6.0 and C++ : The above was an application created with Visual Studio 6.0, NT4.0 and then Windows 2000.
• Then Macromedia Now Adobe corporation.
• Dream Weaver: Macromedia
  An example of creating CMS ( Intro to Content Management System using Dream weaver)
  
  The Runtime view of the file up loader, application..
  
  Picked a file
  
  File uploaded: screenshot.
  
• Java SE Core and J2EE, (Year 2005)
  

Oracle (Sun Micro) corp.:
 

• MySQL database host: and Client API:
  
  
  
• Java : Eclipse, JDeveloper, JBuilder
  
  
• VB5/VB6.0 Studio/
• .NET frame 3.5 Web Server 2008 R2 (Intranet) (32 Bit)
  
• O
• .Net 4.5  ASP.NET 4.5, PHP/Fast CGI (64 Bit)
  • ASP.NET C# Testing (Using server side Scripts): IIS 8.5 with ASP.NET 45
    
    Stand alone web-pages created with server-side C# Scripts written with Text-Pad
    
    
    
  • PHP/MySQL : Custom Query Web-Tool
    
  • PHP/PostgreSQL
    
• Oracle 10g / Windows 32bit
  The screenshot of "Enterprise Manager Console ", packed with 10.2g
  
  
  The screen shot of iSQL plus internet query tool:
  
• Oracle 11.2 g / ASP.NET, PHP/Oracle Support
• XML/XTML support.