A Participant in the Web of Platform - Participatory Mapping: New Data, New Cartography - page 40

A Web API follows the same principle as a computer API 2 :
it facilitates the dialogue and interoperability among
different programs [SON 10, p.11]. APIs are a set of
functions done on a computer system and made accessible
through an interface. They are usually operated by a query
system to perform specific functions.
Online APIs make Web maps easier to publish and use.
First, they facilitate publishing static maps on a Website
simply by querying the API, for example to display a locale
or directions. This map background can then be used to
include third-party data; the result is what we call a
mashup. This term comes from the field of music and evokes
the amalgamation of pieces coming from different sources
[NAV 10]. The principle of mashup is described as follows:
An application development approach that allows
users to aggregate multiple services, each serving
its own purpose, to create a new service that
fulfills a new purpose. Lorenzo et al ., 2009,
quoted in [BAT 10, p.21]
The use of APIs to produce mapping mashups shows how
maps became part of the Web 2.0. This object found its place
alongside other composite applications bringing together
various APIs, such as Amazon and Twitter. Although Google
Maps is not the only mapping API available online, it must
be recognized that it is the most widely used mapping for the
production of composite applications. On the Website
ProgrammableWeb , which reviews the latest mashups and
APIs, mapping mashups make up the highest proportion of
2 “In programming, an application programming interface (API) refers to a
set of functions that can be requested by another software. In order to
create a window under Microsoft Windows for instance, a programmer is
not required to draw it pixel by pixel on the screen. He need only call
CreateWindow, which is part of the Windows API that defines a standard
window with its usual behavior” [RIE 08, p.2].