As technology evolves, so does the markup languages that support it. Let's look at how coding has transformed our online experiences in more detail, and discover how coding affects our daily lives.
Computers have gotten smaller, faster, and cheaper over the past few decades, and today they are even available everywhere, like a phone or even a refrigerator, to help us communicate and do business.
In this article, we'll look at how computers interfere in our daily lives, and how codes are used to help program today's popular innovative technologies.
What are APIs and how do they allow programs to communicate with each other
Almost all companies use digital systems to carry out their daily activities in our time, and they also use advanced accounting software to save data intelligently.
Employees communicate via email, messaging or video conferencing, and suppliers track sales using sensors and databases.
And retail stores often only sell products that exist in the digital world. In the past 50 years, the speed and size of computer chips have changed dramatically.
The computers that put humans on the moon cost $3.5 million and were the size of a car. Today, the average smartphone is 12 million times faster and can fit in a pocket.
This small and inexpensive technology is everywhere: toasters, cars, medical devices, clothes. A large part of it is connected to the Internet.
Programmers can use sets of functions and procedures, called Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), to help two computer applications communicate.
See: Tips for Building a Healthy Relationship With Technology
What computers use APIs?
Here are some everyday examples of how computers use APIs to make things easier for us:
1. Automated Teller Machines Automated teller machines (ATMs) use APIs connected to banks around the world to check the available balance in your account.
If you want to get money in Paris, the ATM will quickly call your bank in London, deduct the amount from your balance and transfer it to the ATM, and that's how you get your money.
What's interesting here is that all this happens in just a few seconds thanks to the APIs.
2. Booking a hotel room When you book a hotel room through a website like Booking.com, you rely on an API that connects the booking model to the room tracking systems of thousands of hotels around the world.
If a hotel confirms that it has a room available, you will then be able to reserve it.
3. Music streaming apps like Spotify keep track of the most played songs around the world.
They use this data to create automated playlists of the most popular artists and songs, often tailored to your musical tastes.
By using APIs, programs can communicate with each other, which in turn helps us get things done faster and more efficiently in our daily lives and in the workplace. That's why the coding world is constantly evolving.
See: Benefits of Maintaining a Healthy Relationship With Technology
What is artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the difference between them
Let's briefly look at two important trends that are changing the face of coding today: artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Both artificial intelligence and machine learning are branches of computer science, and both contribute to the development of machines capable of making smarter decisions.
1. Artificial intelligence is the science of making intelligent machines, and today it helps in improving our daily lives such as:
- Smartphone assistance systems and credit card fraud detection technology.
- Thermostats like Nest automatically adjust room temperatures based on your habits and schedule.
- Predict traffic patterns.
- Recognize faces in image libraries.
- Translation of foreign languages.
In short, AI takes advantage of everything the machine learns in the same environment and uses it to make intelligent decisions.
How artificial intelligence and machine learning are applied in the real world
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are also being used more widely, for example:
- Farmers use them to sort vegetables by size and different characteristics.
- Scientists use them to track the movement of animals.
- Medical researchers use them to detect different types of cancer.
Walk around your home or workplace and ask yourself:
- What devices are connected to the Internet?
- What APIs are used to collect data from them?
- Is there a device around you that uses artificial intelligence or machine learning? If not, do you think any of the devices around you might benefit from these two technologies?
These two new technologies are giving us new ways to tackle old problems and are helping to change the way programmers work in the digital and physical worlds.
This was a brief introduction to how symbols affect our daily lives.