In this video I break down API fundamentals in a super practical way, especially if you’re a software engineering student. At a high level, APIs are the “glue” that connect smaller pieces of software so you can build bigger systems that actually make an impact. I explain what an API is (application programming interface), why you’ll use APIs in basically any tech job, and how most API interactions follow a simple request/response model: a client sends a request to a server, and the server returns either a success response or an error. Then I zoom in on the most common protocol you’ll run into: HTTP. I walk through the core HTTP methods—GET (retrieve data), POST (create a new resource), PUT (update an existing resource), DELETE (remove data), and PATCH (partially modify a resource). From there, I cover what’s inside requests and responses: request bodies (often JSON), headers (metadata like content type and auth), and response pieces like status codes (200, 404, 500), headers, and an optional response body. The big takeaway is that once you understand this structure, you can integrate services more confidently and build more robust applications.