New to working with APIs, any good tutorials/books/guides?

[Dave Angel]

 ApathyBear <nirchernia at gmail.com> Wrote in message:
> I don't understand how APIs work to save my life. I am a complete beginner. In fact, I am a bit confused on what API even means and what the meaning entails.
> 
> I am fairly competent with python, though I do lack some real world experience. Regardless, any tutorials/books/guides that deal with API for a complete beginner would be awesome.
> 

At its most fundamental,  the API is the documentation that makes
 it practical to reuse code you didn't write yourself,  or that
 you wrote longer than 30 days ago.

"Application Programmer Interface" describes the functions,  the
 classes,  the globals. The semantics,  the algorithms,  the
 assumptions,  the gotchas.  The license,  the restrictions.

If you inherit a body of code and it doesn't define an API,
 chances are it's throwaway code,  good only for examples.
 

> 
> 
> PS: Something that can explain SDKs would be helpful as well. 
> 

SDK is "Software Development Kit"  Generally it's a bunch of
 related APIs plus one or more of tools like editor,  compiler, 
 interpreter,  debugger,  profiler, test generator,  IDE, source
 control system,  bug tracker,  etc. 

-- 
DaveA