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UnAPI

UnAPI is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand UnAPI rather than just read about it. In short: According to its website, an unAPI is: a tiny HTTP API any web application may use to co-publish discretely identified objects in both HTML pages and disparate bare object formats. It consists of three parts: an identifier microformat, an HTML autodiscovery link, and three HTTP interface functions, two of which have a standardized response format.

Key takeaways

  • UnAPI belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect UnAPI to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of UnAPI from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

According to its website, an unAPI is:

a tiny HTTP API any web application may use to co-publish discretely identified objects in both HTML pages and disparate bare object formats. It consists of three parts: an identifier microformat, an HTML autodiscovery link, and three HTTP interface functions, two of which have a standardized response format. The unAPI specification is only two pages long.

Server-side applications which use unAPI Bebop Evergreen Koha refbase WordPress (via a plugin) VITAL, digital repository invenio digital library framework Omeka S, web-publishing platform for academic and cultural repositories Glottolog a clld app supports unAPI on its root page.

Client tools which can use unAPI Zotero

See also COinS

References

Further reading Chudnov, Daniel (2012-03-19). Koster, James (ed.). "unAPI: an un-API for webapps - A super-simple way to get stuff". refbase. Archived from the original on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2020-11-09. Back, Godmar; Binkley, Peter; Celeste, Eric; Chudnov, Daniel; Clarke, Kevin; D'Arcus, Bruce; Dodds, Leigh; Eaton, Alf; Fawcett, Graham; Frumkin, Jeremy; Giarlo, Michael; Hellman, Eric; Liu, Xiaoming; Pearson, Phillip; Rhyno, Art; Rylander, Mike; Sanderson, Rob; Singer, Ross; Summers, Ed; Toub, Steve; Yee, Raymond; Young, Jeff (2006-07-23) [2006-01-14]. "contribution". unAPI Version 1 (normative). By Chudnov, Daniel. Koster, James (ed.). 1.0. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31.

External links Mailing list archives, fall 2004-summer 2006 Current listserv for unAPI and related discussions

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with UnAPI

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what UnAPI claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to UnAPI before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about UnAPI ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of UnAPI

In research
UnAPI appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses UnAPI in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
UnAPI is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Library 2.0, Library and information science stubs, Website stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for UnAPI outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study UnAPI in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what UnAPI means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain UnAPI out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is UnAPI in simple terms?

According to its website, an unAPI is: a tiny HTTP API any web application may use to co-publish discretely identified objects in both HTML pages and disparate bare object formats. It consists of three parts: an identifier microformat, an HTML autodiscovery link, and three HTTP interface functions…

Why does UnAPI matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study UnAPI?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on UnAPI.

Tags

  • Library 2.0
  • Library and information science stubs
  • Website stubs

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