Introduction to the Auth0 APIs

Auth0 is an organization known for extending the authentication and authorization of an application. Authentication and authorization are vital components of any application creation cycle. Developers can implement their logic to authenticate the users or opt for state-of-the-art solutions provided by Auth0 APIs. Authentication is identifying the user or application using their given credentials, and authorization is validating their rights to access specific resources or perform some operations. In short, Auth0 helps identify valid users and allows them to access information for which they have authorization.

Before we dive into the course, let's see the definition of API in general and with respect to Auth0 services.

What is an API?

An API is a software gateway that allows different software components to communicate with each other. It helps expose the capabilities of an application to the outer world, allowing for programmatic access to their data.

Consider the case of a service like Auth0 that provides authentication and authorization services. Building and exposing an API for this service will allow others to programmatically fetch the data this service offers, such as managing users and implementing attach protections.

Many popular services like YouTube, Reddit, and Google Maps provide APIs for extended use cases. These services allow authorized clients to access the resources provided by them.