Basic structure of the API URL

API structure

The API is called via a well-defined URL. If an XML file is supplied by a call, it can also be entered in a browser window, for example. The resulting XML is then displayed by the browser.

The URL consists of:

<Protocol>://<Host>/<Version>/<Method>/<Dataformat>.<Outputformat>?<Parameter>

1. API base URL: ‘https://api.itscope.com’.
2. Version: the latest version is ‘/2.1.
3. Method: this may, for example, begin with ‘/products’. Another method is ‘/search’, followed by the filters, described in URL path syntax.
4. Data format: for example standard or developer, described in data formats
5. Output format: output formats can be CSV, XML or JSON.
6. Parameters: separated from the path with a ‘?’ symbol. Additional information, such as for sorting are provided; these are described in URL parameter syntax.

Combining these elements results in the link to an API call, for example:

https://api.itscope.com/2.1/products/search/keywords=server%20barebone/standard.xml?sort=DEFAULT