An API is a tool that allows data to be retrieved from one system by another system or application.  The data can then be used in other websites, applications, compiled into reports, for your own data analysis, and more.  APIs are all about connection and information sharing - integrating data from one source to another. 

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a user-friendly, text-based data-interchange format of communication, used primarily to transmit data between applications and servers over network connections. It is an independent language, and there are parsers available for many languages, including Java, Ruby/Ruby on Rails, and Unix Command Line, for which we have provided sample code.

REST (Representational state transfer) is a type of software architecture, in which clients send requests to servers, and servers return responses after processing requests. It is the most commonly used architecture for APIs. The MARS API uses REST architecture.

Universal Resource Locator (URL) is another name for a web address, the text that you type into your internet browser when you want to go to a website. A URL works like a house address. If you give someone a house address, they can navigate to find a home or business. If you give your browser a URL, it can find where to go to find the web page you want to visit.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an information exchanging procedure standard between 2 communicating parties or computers, such as the client and the server. While you type a URL address in the web browser, the browser will have to know the protocol to use when fetching the remote resource such as a web page or a picture at that address.

Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is the secure version of HTTP, the protocol over which data is sent between your browser and the website that you are connected to. The 'S' at the end of HTTPS stands for 'Secure'. It means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted. HTTPS is often used to protect highly confidential online transactions like online banking and online shopping order forms.

HTTP basic access authentication is a simple challenge and response mechanism with which a server can request authentication information (a user ID and password) from a client. The client passes the authentication information to the server in an Authorization header. The HTTP basic authentication scheme can be considered secure only when the connection between the web client and the server is secure.

cURL is free and open source software and is used in command lines or scripts to transfer data.