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API vs Open Interface


What are Open Interfaces?
  • The term Open Interfaces actually refers a programming interface, usually a database table, which automates the execution of Oracle APIs.
  • Open Interfaces provide a single, simple interface for a specified business procedure.
  • There are interface tables that we need to populate and run a concurrent request that will pick records from these tables do validation and insert it in the base tables.
 What are the Oracle APIs?
  • These are called as a collection of “Black Box” interfaces that provide programmatic access into the Oracle ERP database.
  • The term API refers to stored procedure driven interfaces, where you call a stored procedure to perform an action within an Oracle Module, and the data from your external application is passed through the stored procedure’s parameters.
  • APIs are for not meant for mass data loading and they load a single record (not necessarily a single row) at a time, we have to pass parameters and generally they need data in a row/table type format to make use of APIs for mass loading we have to run it in a loop reading from a .csv file.
Why use Open Interfaces?
  •            In EBS one Open Interface may run many API calls.
  •           Open Interface run asynchronously.
  •                  The good is that if there is failure of record, they remain in the table until either fixed or purged.
  •                      They automate the interface into the APIs.
  •                     This requires less work and less code as few SQL DML would simply.
 Why use APIs?
  •          When there is no corresponding Open Interface.
  •          Normally all Oracle APIs run synchronously, and provide immediate responses, therefore mechanism to be provided to handle such situation.
  •          APIs requires custom error handling routine.
  •          This may requires lot more effort as these need fine grain control approach.
  •          API is faster than Open Interface.
Note: 
  • The APIs are also used by the front end screens, and in the same way, will require all the appropriate prerequisites to be implemented.
  • Cannot use APIs as an alternative to implementation.