Question 1

True or false: Every public API must have a dedicated mobile app to work.

Accepted Answer

False. APIs are backend services; they work independently of any app. Many APIs are used by web, desktop, or IoT clients.

Question 2

True or false: Many modern APIs use a technique called 'rate limiting' to prevent abuse.

Accepted Answer

True. Rate limiting controls how many requests a client can make in a timeframe, protecting servers from overload and misuse.

Question 3

True or false: GraphQL APIs can reduce 'over-fetching' of data compared to REST.

Accepted Answer

True. GraphQL lets clients request exactly the fields they need, avoiding the extra data often sent by REST endpoints.

Question 4

True or false: A single API can be called by multiple programming languages simultaneously.

Accepted Answer

True. APIs are language-agnostic; any language that can make HTTP requests can call the same endpoint at the same time.

Question 5

True or false: The term 'API' was first coined by Salesforce in the early 2000s.

Accepted Answer

False. The term API predates Salesforce by decades; it was used in the 1960s for operating system libraries and formally defined in the 1970s.

Question 6

True or false: REST APIs require the use of JSON for all data exchange.

Accepted Answer

False. REST is an architectural style, not a format. It supports XML, plain text, and other formats, though JSON is most common.

Question 7

True or false: API keys are always encrypted when sent over HTTP.

Accepted Answer

False. API keys are often sent in plain text as query parameters or headers unless HTTPS is enforced, which is a common security risk.

Question 8

True or false: The first web API was created by Salesforce in 2002.

Accepted Answer

True. Salesforce launched its API in 2002, widely considered the first major web API, allowing external apps to access its CRM data.

API Trivia Questions