Delivery and integration
API
Also called: Application programming interface
A defined way for software to request data or actions from another system.
In practice
Where a source offers a suitable API, use it. Where it doesn't, extraction fills the gap.
An interface, not a delivery guarantee
An API defines how one software system interacts with another. For a web-data workflow, it may start a collection job, return job status or expose completed records. The response format is only part of the contract; authentication, parameters, pagination, errors and usage limits also affect how the integration behaves. An API need not finish the requested work in the initial response.
Example: an asynchronous extraction
A client submits a source and receives a job identifier. It then checks status or waits for a callback before downloading the result. The integration must distinguish a request being accepted from extraction succeeding. It should also handle a completed job whose output is empty or incomplete, rather than counting every successful HTTP response as a usable data delivery.
Questions for an integration
Check how credentials are stored, how retries are handled and whether repeated requests can create duplicate work. Establish the schema expected by downstream consumers and how version changes are communicated. Record request or job identifiers for troubleshooting without logging secrets. Treat transport success, extraction success and business acceptance as separate observations when building operational and conversion reporting.
Import.io delivers CSV, JSON or Parquet to files, warehouses, SFTP, APIs and webhooks, with a manifest on every managed delivery.
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