Ref:API
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| - | An '''API''' ("Application Programming Interface") is one or more libraries with a uniform interface for an intended field of usages rather than a particular usage (compare with [[ | + | An '''API''' ("Application Programming Interface") is one or more libraries with a uniform interface for an intended field of usages rather than a particular usage (compare with [[ref:Engine|engine]]). APIs are generally an intermediate layer between lower-level (OS or hardware) operations and application code that abstracts, simplifies or organises these into higher-level calls. For instance, OpenGL and DirectX (Direct3D) are APIs for 3D graphics written on top of graphics hardware (which is usually idiosyncratic) that provides an abstracted and hardware-independent interface to using there. |
| - | Compare with [[ | + | Compare with [[ref:Framework|framework]] and [[ref:Engine|engine]]. |
[[category:game development terminology]] | [[category:game development terminology]] | ||
Current revision as of 22:23, 22 February 2009
An API ("Application Programming Interface") is one or more libraries with a uniform interface for an intended field of usages rather than a particular usage (compare with engine). APIs are generally an intermediate layer between lower-level (OS or hardware) operations and application code that abstracts, simplifies or organises these into higher-level calls. For instance, OpenGL and DirectX (Direct3D) are APIs for 3D graphics written on top of graphics hardware (which is usually idiosyncratic) that provides an abstracted and hardware-independent interface to using there.
