Intro

Before diving into machine learning, it’s important to get familiar with the basic concepts and key terms often used in this field. As you go deeper into the subject, one of the biggest challenges will be remembering what certain terms mean. Without a solid understanding of these basics, learning advanced topics can feel much harder than it needs to be.

This introduction covers the essential high-level concepts you should know — many of which are concepts from high school / engineering days. Taking a moment to revisit them now will make your learning journey much smoother later on.

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a well-defined set of rules that enables different software applications to communicate seamlessly. It acts as a bridge that facilitates the exchange of data and functionalities between systems, ensuring they work together efficiently.

In this context, an application refers to any software that either provides or consumes functionality, while the interface serves as a contract that defines how these applications interact. At its core, API architecture follows a client-server model, where the client is the application making a request, and the server is the system processing the request and returning a response. This structured communication allows developers to build scalable, modular, and interoperable software solutions.