Centralized Entry Point
- In complex systems with multiple microservices or backend services, clients (e.g., web or mobile applications) typically need to interact with various endpoints to access different functionalities.
- An API Gateway acts as a single entry point, meaning that clients send their requests to the gateway, and the gateway takes responsibility for routing those requests to the appropriate services.
- This simplifies the client-side code since clients only need to know about the API Gateway’s URL.
Is API Gateway a Middleware?
Yes, an API Gateway is often considered a type of middleware. Middleware is software that sits between different applications or components in a system and provides services such as communication, data transformation, and security.
- An API Gateway acts as an intermediary between clients and backend services, routing requests, transforming data formats, and handling security and authentication.
- It abstracts the complexity of the underlying services and provides a unified interface for clients to interact with the system.
- In this sense, an API Gateway can be seen as a specialized form of middleware that specifically focuses on managing APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and the interactions between clients and services.