2. What is an Open API?
An API provides a mechanism by which external
programs can communicate with an internal
software program and even access or exchange
data.
APIs allows data exchange between websites,
applications and organizations, while the data
source remains in the same place. (Source:
www.web2fordev.net).
APIs are more flexible and powerful than RSS
feeds.
3. What is a mashup?
Applications built using APIs are commonly called
âmashupsâ â combine data and functionality from
different programmes.
Mashups (usually) are about:
Combination
Visualization
Aggregation
In a mashup, the emphasis is on making already
existing data more useful.
For instance, APIs let you grab statistics from a website and use them on your own website. That way one does not have to access individually other websites, but can instantly combine data from different websites (Source: www.web2fordev.net).