Glossary

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A

API

API means application programming interface. An API consist of multiple definitions and protocols for developing and integrating application software. An API is an interface that allows independent applications to communicate with each other and exchange data.

API call

An API call or API request is a message to a server that requests an API to provide a service or information.

Authorization

Authorization is the process of verifying whether a user is allowed to perform a certain action. Our Grassfish IXM Aqua API only allows the authorization via OAuth2.0 (client credentials).

B

Bearer token

A bearer token is a type of access token that grants the owner access to a protected resource. Essentially, it's a credential that allows the "bearer" (the owner of the token) to access resources without further authentication.

E

Endpoint

An API endpoint is a unique URL of a server or service that points to a specific resource. API endpoints are the final touchpoints in the API communication system, where API and server interact. The API uses endpoints to perform specific tasks such as requesting data or starting a process.

H

HTTP

HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol. This is a standardized protocol for transmitting data between clients and servers on the internet. The client sends an HTTP request to the server using a standard set of methods such as GET to specify the action it wants to perform on a specific resource.

P

Parameters

Parameters are variables that provide specific information or instructions to an API endpoint. There are different types of parameters that are included in different parts of an API request: header parameters, path parameters, query parameters, and request body parameters.

Pagination

API pagination is a technique for managing and retrieving large data sets in smaller, more manageable chunks (pages) within an API response. Instead of sending all data at once, the server provides a specific page of results along with information for requesting subsequent pages.

S

Status code

API status codes are HTTP status codes. The API returns an HTTP status code to indicate the status of a client request. The code informs the user of the result of their request, such as “200 OK” for a successful operation.

U

UTC

UTC means coordinated universal time. This is a standard for determining all time zones in the world with a uniform calculation. Using UTC as the reference time, each time zone can be determined in deviation from another time zone. The differences between a time zone and universal time are given in UTC +/- x hours.