The process of creating a Connector changes based on a few different factors:
- the API type (REST, GraphQL, SOAP, etc.)
- the type of data transferred (JSON, Form, XML, etc)
- the type of Authentication the API uses
We will cover these later on in the course. But in order to familiarize you with the terms early, we should first cover some basics. After this lesson you should be able to understand the basics of Connector building, such as:
- What do the different API Types mean?
- What is a request?
- How to manage testing?
If you feel confident about these subjects, please feel free to jump ahead to the next lesson and mark this one as complete.
Glossary
Object
Object refers to to a data structure which contains related data. Some examples of an object could be a contact, an invoice, an event, a sales report, cryptocurrency prices and anything else that contains data.
Domains and Endpoints
A “domain” is a string of text that maps to an IP address. The domain is only related to “where” the server is. For instance: “google.co.uk” takes us to Google. That is a domain.
But if you search for something on Google, the URL changes to the following: “google.co.uk/search“. This URL is called an EndPoint. The domain is still “google.co.uk”.
EndPoints are typically the entire URL, whereas a domain only maps to the initial server location.
Request
A request is essentially a message that you are sending to the API. This message “requests” that an event happens on an application. Events that can be requested are specific to each API.
Method
Your Connector’s Methods define the type of Requests that your Connector will make to the API.