as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
what is an api?
user
an api (application programming interface) is a set of functions that allows applications to access data and interact with external software components, operating systems, or microservices. apis are used to allow applications to perform complex tasks such as request and receive webpages, establish connections, and even receive complex authentication tokens. an api generally defines the kind of requests that can be made, the path to the resource, what parameters are needed, the data formats that are acceptable, and the action that the api should take in response to the request.
assistant