What is Apigee | Apigee API Management | Introduction to Apigee (2023)

What is Apigee?

Apigee can be defined as a platform for creating and handling the APIs. An Application programming interface (API) acts as a single-window or entry point for a defined set of microservices and handles protocol translations. Many services are assured by way of RESTful APIs, an architectural style for an API that uses HTTP requests to access and use data. Through utilizing the administrations with an intermediary layer, Apigee gives a reflection or veneer to your backend service APIs and gives rate restricting, security, investigation etc. Apigee is the present significant center of API abilities and administrations for creators. Programming interface Management alludes to the methods and devices which empower an association to execute and look after its APIs. It manages how the entryway passes to the backend administration and returns the reaction back.

Why apigee?

The greater part of the huge organizations have worked out APIs for their clients and for inner use. There is a decision to have the information on-premise or in the cloud, whichever turns out best for the circumstance. API devices regularly take into account security strategy definition and implementation, including verification and approval of API customers. They can smother API calls and break limits of use dependent on set up SLAs and asset assignment arrangements. IT Central Station clients are searching for a solid API passage that oversees motors to alter solicitations and reactions progressively. Distributing apparatuses, report access and strategies of use and deals with the existence pattern of API Management is answerable for gathering information investigation, and screens load balancers and troubleshooting, particularly email, logs, and approval mistakes. Customers utilizing APIs have availability of knowledge for their utilization since APIs do affect numerous items and administrations.

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History

Apigee, released as a public beta in the year 2009 by Sonoa Systems which is a free, cloud-based API management tool. The company name Sonoa Systems was rebranded in 2010 to Apigee for promoting its core product. In 2015 it became a founding member of the OpenAPI Initiative, sponsored by the Linux Foundation. Google purchased Apigee in 2016 and expanded its API management offerings. AccuWeather, PayPal, 20th Century Fox, the American Cancer Society, Target, Twitter, and Bloomberg are some of the users of Apigee. In 2018, it was declared a leader for the 3rd consecutive year by the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Full lifecycle API management.

Features of Apigee

Apigee can be availed as a subscription model through which the API management platform can be utilized. Its features include:

• Connects the current user interface with traditional data stores.
• Automates documentation of APIs and software development kits.
• Supports both the hybrid cloud and multi-cloud.
• Collaborates the analytics and machine learning
• Provides tools to monitor and troubleshoot API with security and optimization.
• Scalable as per the requirements.

Basic Terminologies used in Apigee

Terminologies associated with Apigee include API, API basepath and resources, API proxy, API product, app, environment, organization, policy, API Resource path, Version, and Revision. While talking about API basepath and resources, it is noted that an API can be defined by a system of network addresses and URIs, which is made up of a base path and a group of resources. The policies and codes are attached to URIs that ensure control of APIs through Edge facilities.

API

API, an interface which makes it simple for one app to burn-through capacities or information from different apps. Through characterizing steadily, streamlined passage focuses on app information, APIs empower designers to handily get to and reuse app logic provided by different engineers. On account of Web APIs information is uncovered over the organization. Apps that burn-through APIs are prone to alterations. The contract/agreement implied by API gives some degree of affirmation that, in the long run, the API will change in an anticipated way. Apigee Edge empowers you to construct APIs adding an administration and visibility option. On the off chance that you have HTTP empowered administrations, for example, SOA-based Web administrations, it can be uncovered as APIs through Apigee Edge. Edge additionally empowers you to fabricate APIs by actualizing apps facilitated on the API Services having no backend administration included. You can construct apps in Java, JavaScript, and Node.js.

API Proxy

By executing APIproxies you can uncover APIs in Apigee Edge. The API proxies dissociate the application confronting API from backend administrations, protecting those applications from backend code alterations. While creating backend changes to your administrations, applications keep on calling similar API with no interference. The two sorts of endpoints in an API Proxy setup are:

ProxyEndpoint: It explains the way customer applications devour your APIs. You design the ProxyEndpoint to characterize the URL of the API proxy. This endpoint additionally decides if applications could avail the proxy on HTTPS or HTTP. You can join strategies to the ProxyEndpoint to implement security, amount checks, and different kinds of access commands and rate-restricting.

TargetEndpoint: It explains the manner in which the API proxy collaborates with backend administrations. You design the TargetEndpoint to advance solicitations to the best possible backend administration, including characterizing any security conditions, HTTP or HTTPS, and other association data. You can connect arrangements to the TargetEndpoint to guarantee that reaction messages are appropriately designed for the application which made the underlying solicitation.

API proxy

API proxy can be defined as a collection of policies and file configurations that depends on a collection of resources contributed by Apigee Edge. These proxies are generated by the Apigee Edge management UI. It can be completed through using a text editor. It enables alteration without affecting the teams and shields developers from code changes. While making changes, they maintain the interface constant. It exposes you to numerous interfaces while meeting with developer requirements and also customizes the trademark of that particular API.

API Products

An API Products are collections of API resources (URIs) connected with a service plan, which is issued to app developers at design time. These can be bundled into API packages for monetization. It acts as a binding between an app and the bundle of URIs that the app is permitted to consume. API keys are bound to one or more API products.

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API Package

A bundle of API products given to creators as a group, and are associated with a rate plan detailed in monetization is called API Package.

App

App denotes ‘application’ which refers to mobile applications which utilizes APIs. Apps are developed and implemented in different types of system programming languages, and by using different technologies. The apps should be registered in an organization on Apigee Edge. Through this procedure, it provides an API key, and secret that can understand the app.

Environments

Environments are a particular runtime execution context for API proxies. Proxies must be set up to an environment as its exposure is achieved on the network. Two environments provisioned by organizations are test and prod. The test is used for expanding API proxies during development. The prod can be utilized for promoting proxies from the test environment.

Container

A container encompasses all the elements in an Apigee Edge account that in turn includes the API proxies, packages, apps, products, and developers. User account is mandatory for every organization.

Policy

Policies are processing steps that are carried out as a recyclable unit of logic inserted within API proxy processing flow. Its functions include altering message formats, reinforcing access control, contacting assistance for further information, concealing delicate data from extraneous users, analyzing messages for possible threats, caching frequent feedbacks to enhance performance, etc. It can be implemented conditionally according to the content within or background of a feedback message.

Resource path

The resource path is an uniform resource identifier (URI) which determines the network path to a resource.

Version

It is a version of the developer interacting API interface.

Revision

It is the categorized, version restrained packet of configuration wrapped into an API Proxy.

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API development lifecycle

Software development life cycle is unique for every organization. This is much needed to unify API proxy deployment along with the processes that you use for developing and testing other applications. RESTful APIs help to combine API proxy deployment and management into the organization's Software development life cycle. We have already discussed the two environments and the distinction between both are arbitrary, as they are identified by completely different sets of URLs. Default (http address)and secure(https address) are Virtual Hosts.

Development tools

APIs are developed as per consumer app requirements. Apigee Edge UI, a browser-based tool can be used to create, configure, and manage API proxies and API products. It helps to create API proxies by editing code and checking request flows through your proxies. It creates API products that meet client requests. It manages developers and developer apps. It configures test and production environments.

Characteristics of API proxy development

• APIs are entry points for one application to use the benefits of another. In Apigee Edge, API proxies are configured with API proxy logic as a chain of steps that are
• executed according to the request from client code. API proxy is exposed to clients by detailing the endpoints.
• The order of API proxy logic is arranged using flows.
• Data is accessed through these flow variables.
• Conditions are applied while executing API Proxies
• Reusable sets of functionality are used and debugging is done with a trace tool.
• Proxy errors are marked as faults.

Components of Apigee

Apigee services: The APIs which you utilize to make, operate, and send the API proxies.

Apigee runtime: A bunch of compartmentalized runtime administrations in a Kubernetes group which Google keeps up. All the API traffic is prepared and goes through the given administrations.

GCP administrations: It assures logging facilities, identity management, investigation, measurements, and tasks managing capacities.

Back-end services: It is utilized by your applications to give runtime admittance to information to the API proxies.

Flavors of Apigee

Apigee: A facilitated SaaS form in which Apigee keeps up the conditions, permitting you to focus on building administrations and characterizing the APIs to the given administrations.

Apigee hybrid:An adaptation type comprising of a runtime plane that is introduced on-premises or in a cloud supplier of one’s decision, and an administration plane operating in Apigee's cloud. API traffic and information are limited to your own undertaking affirmed limits in this model.

Services available through Apigee

Apigee empowers you to furnish secure admittance to your administrations with a characterized API which is steady over all administrations, paying little interest to support execution. A reliable API:

• Creates it simple for application designers to devour the services.
• Empowers you to alter the backend administration execution without influencing the public API.
• Empowers you to exploit the analytics, and different highlights incorporated into Apigee
• Instead of having application designers burn-through the administrations, they utilize an API proxy made on Apigee. This capacities as a planning of a freely accessible
• HTTP endpoint to your backend administration. Through making an API proxy allows Apigee to manage the security and approval errands needed to ensure your
• administrations, just as to investigate and screen those administrations. Since application designers create HTTP solicitations to an API proxy, engineers don't have to be aware about the execution of your administrations. All the designer requires to know is:
• API proxy endpoint’s URL.
• Any inquiry tools, headers, or body boundaries accepted in a solicitation.
• Any necessary verification and approval qualifications.
• The configuration of the reaction, including the reaction information format, for example, XML or JSON.
• The API proxy disengages the application designer from your backend administration. Along these lines you are allowed to alter the administration execution till the public API stays predictable. For instance, you can alter a database execution, shift administrations to another host, or roll out some other improvements to the services. By keeping up a steady frontend API, existing customer applications will keep on working, paying little heed to changes on the backend.

Conclusion

Apigee Edge lets you effectively and rapidly construct RESTful APIs which can be devoured by application creators. You uncover APIs on Edge by developing API proxies which go about as handled veneers for backend administrations. The significant thing to recall is you can actualize policies on Apigee, not on the backend server. Apigee gives developers the benefits that empower you to deal with the network of application designers who are utilizing your administrations and operates with inward and outside developers and manage the associations with monetary methods.

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