Creating an API

[VBKNIGHT]

How can I create an API???

[gaffa]

An API is just a set of publicaly exposed methods, properties and events. Generally, an API set might consist of a handful of classes that perform a set of inter-related tasks.

You sort of create the API through decent design of your software - the API is a by-product (to a certain extend) of the development of the software, not an entity in itself.

Think of the Word object model - that's an API, but it exists cos Word was written using a series of classes and DLL's that all work together, and the byproduct was that external progrmas could look at those classes and utilise the functions that are built into word.

- gaffa

[VBKNIGHT]

What is the difference between an API and Plugins?

I want to develop a Plugin for Acrobat. Can I create it in Visual C++??

I saw one Acrobat plugin and it's extension is .API how they compiled it to become .api ???

I'm confused if it's different definitions of api.

[gaffa]

API in this instance probably stands for Acrobat PlugIn. What I was describing was a Application Programming Interface (the other API ).

If you want to write Acrtbat plugins, well, some Adobe products expose an object model (the API) for you to work with - I've done some work with InDesign - and other apps use DDE (like PageMaker).

- gaffa