API is a term common in professional settings and discussions about software development, but what does it mean and how do they work?

Developers use application programming interfaces to hide complexity, organize code, design reusable components, and connect different systems, applications, or services.

The secret to API-first is working API-first. Don’t tack on an API interconnectivity mandate to any product after it has reached the level of fully-blown, go-live development and deployment.

With Cadl, you can write a 500-line OpenAPI definition in 50 lines of code. It’s a logical way for architects and developers to construct and constrain APIs.