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To: Uncle Frank who wrote (3400)	7/4/1999 12:02:00 PM
From: gue	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Uncle Frank, If I may be so bold as to answer for Frank Coluccio [something which I rarely would feel qualified to do :-) ], an API in a general sense is an "Application Programming Interface" which is an interface that software and hardware vendors can define to allow others to access the services that the software or hardware provides. For example, when you write a macro in Microsoft Excel, you are utilizing Excel's API to access its services. gue

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (3400)	7/4/1999 2:22:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 54805

Uncle Frank, API stands for "Application Program (alternately "programming" in some references) Interface." An API is the soft code that sits at the I/O interface of one software module and defines the code requirements in order to interface and communicate with ther software modules. This can be from within a single vendor's suite of modules, or very often can be written by other vendors wishing to interface with the former, in which case the interface is said to be an "open API interface." The latter would be the case in the example I cited between BT and other frameworks. Maybe someone else can do a better job at describing what an API is by using some examples? Regards, Frank Coluccio ps - I really should make it a habit to read all replies before replying myself. Of course, Gue quite capably answered the question, giving a good example of how an API works. Thanks, Gue! In recognition of what you wrote, Gue, I also edited/modified the last part of my reply above, to include "open" API interfacing, as opposed to closed or proprietary forms. Comments and corrections welcome. And here's to wishing everyone on this thread a Safe and Happy Fourth.