I have never used an API as part of a website, I have always coded things myself, but I am now thinking about maybe looking at starting to use some, I mean why re-invent the wheel!?
So, my question is, where do you start, how do you integrate, how do they work, what do I do, will they fit seamlessly into my site/design?
Any pointers, advice or links appreciated.
Richard
It really depends on the API you want to integrate. Some will use REST, which is really simple, you only need to call them and get back some JSON/XML to parse.
Some, like Facebook API with FQL, requires you do more job but giving you more power to manipulate with their services. Facebook also has Graph API in case you want something simple, easy to learn
It depends on what you want to do. There are lots of API's for lots of web services. Generally, they provide the library (you are probably looking for a PHP API, based on how you tagged the question) and you include it in your code. It is that simple to include it. The work will be learning how to use the API (each one is different).