Application Programming Interface (API) Library for Nigerian Software Development Industry

Abstract

The concept of re-using functions or routines (or sometimes called libraries) built by the developer or a third party to address critical problems within applications by the developer without re-inventing the wheel is not new in software development. However, there are some extremely difficult situations in which an application must communicate with one or more other applications in order to share data/information without having prior knowledge of how such data/information is derived; thus, the name of such a process is Application Programming Interface (API).In the Nigerian software development industry, developers who build applications to access national critical data/information on a daily basis attempt to re-event the wheels where such capacity exists at the expense of cost and time, and are frequently confronted with limitations due to a lack of publicly re-usable functions, routines, or libraries that will enable access to such national critical data. This paper will offer a solution to this problem by providing a framework and an implemented application boilerplate that will allow Nigerian software developers to gain secure access to dozens of APIs that may target national critical data/information such as BVN, NIN, biometrics data, security data from security agencies, customs, NDLEA, immigration, licensing authorities  and any other national critical data/information required by an application programmer without re-inventing  the wheel thereby saving cost, time and removing limitations currently suffered by developers. The exploratory and explanatory research methodologies, as well as the Angular framework, were used to examine the impact of not reinventing the wheel. This work may be useful to programmers, API developers, researchers, security agencies, and any organization tasked with managing national critical data.