Glossary

API Application Programming Interface. This is a set of functions that applications can call to interact with another piece of software.
If you're writing software that needs to query a DB2 database, you can install the DB2 client and call functions from the CAE API. If you've installed Client Access, and want your application to interact with the AS/400, you can call the Client Access API. Most importantly, though, if you want to ask the operating system inside which your program is running to do some work for you, you use its API.
This is how you make use of platform-specific features; for example, the C language specification provides a way to open a file, but the Win32 API allows you to create a file with NT security attributes.

SDK Software Development Kit. Generally, this is a complete description of an API. It contains definitions of structures and data types, as well as function prototypes, descriptions of techniques, sample code, and the like.

Win32 A platform that supports the Win32 API. These platforms include Intel Win32s, Windows NT, Windows 95, MIPS Windows NT, DEC Alpha Windows NT, and Power PC Windows NT. The Win32 specification describes a set of functions and kernel services on which applications can rely.

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This page is maintained by Peyton Engel.
Last modified 24 May 1999

API	Application Programming Interface. This is a set of functions that applications can call to interact with another piece of software. If you're writing software that needs to query a DB2 database, you can install the DB2 client and call functions from the CAE API. If you've installed Client Access, and want your application to interact with the AS/400, you can call the Client Access API. Most importantly, though, if you want to ask the operating system inside which your program is running to do some work for you, you use its API. This is how you make use of platform-specific features; for example, the C language specification provides a way to open a file, but the Win32 API allows you to create a file with NT security attributes.

SDK	Software Development Kit. Generally, this is a complete description of an API. It contains definitions of structures and data types, as well as function prototypes, descriptions of techniques, sample code, and the like.

Win32	A platform that supports the Win32 API. These platforms include Intel Win32s, Windows NT, Windows 95, MIPS Windows NT, DEC Alpha Windows NT, and Power PC Windows NT. The Win32 specification describes a set of functions and kernel services on which applications can rely.