Ultimate Guide to Salesforce APIs

Salesforce provides an ecosystem where numerous APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) can be integrated to improve the process and maintain smooth integration with external systems.

In this article, we will explore Salesforce APIs and how they provide practical solutions with their implementation.

What Are Salesforce APIs?

Before we get started, let’s take a quick look at the different types of Salesforce APIs that specialize in different business purposes.

REST API

This API is the relevant solution when developers want to link Salesforce data into web and mobile applications. It leads to better CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations. Furthermore, it can support both XML and JSON formats in sorting Salesforce data.

• Use Case: Integrating Salesforce data into a custom sales dashboard for mobile and web applications.
• Scenario: A sales team uses a mobile app to check customer profiles on the go. REST API helps in real-time access to Salesforce data, such as accounts and leads, from the app.
• Benefits: Supports both XML and JSON formats for data exchange. Additionally, it sorts CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations.

SOAP API

Developers use this API when they want to use enterprise systems, which is necessary for a formal contract and structured data exchange. Moreover, it uses the power of XML for requests and responses, which is a way to manipulate data in the Salesforce ecosystem.

• Use Case: Integrating Salesforce with legacy enterprise systems like an ERP.
• Scenario: An organization needs to sync Salesforce opportunities with an ERP for better inventory and sales management. SOAP API ensures a structured and formal data exchange using XML.
• Benefits: Provides enterprise-level reliability for structured data integration.

Bulk API

As the name suggests, this API is specifically used to handle massive amounts of data. Additionally, it helps in the asynchronous processing of extensive record sets for two purposes, i.e., data migration and batch processing.

• Use Case: Transferring extensive datasets during system enhancements or mergers.
• Scenario: A business transfers its client database from an old CRM to Salesforce. With the power of Bulk API, they are able to handle millions of records in batches.
• Benefits: Handles high-volume data asynchronously. This step saves a huge amount of time and resources.

Metadata API

This API helps with the management of customizations and configurations in the Salesforce environment. Furthermore, developers can retrieve, deploy, create, update, or delete customization information.

• Use Case: Automating deployments across Salesforce environments.
• Scenario: A development team creates custom objects and fields in a sandbox. Metadata API helps deploy these configurations to production with minimal effort.
• Benefits: Simplifies the management of customizations and configurations.

Streaming API

When developers want to provide real-time data streaming and send notifications when changes happen in Salesforce, they can use Streaming API. This is the optimum framework through which the generation of real-time dashboards and the synchronization of data between systems has become easy.

• Use Case: Enabling real-time updates for dashboards and notifications.
• Scenario: A sales manager needs real-time updates on lead status changes. Streaming API pushes these updates instantly to a dashboard without polling.
• Benefits: Facilitates real-time data synchronization and alerts.

Connect REST API

The operational capability of this API is to provide a bridge between B2B Commerce, CMS-managed content, Experience Cloud sites, and Chatter with external systems. Now, developers have the freedom to interact with Chatter feeds, users, groups, and followers.

• Use Case: Bridging external systems with Salesforce Chatter and Experience Cloud.
• Scenario: A B2B commerce site wants to integrate Salesforce Chatter feeds into its customer portal for better collaboration. Connect REST API enables seamless interaction between systems.
• Benefits: Streamlines communication between Salesforce and external applications.

Aside from these, there are other APIs known as User Interface API, Tooling API, Pub/Sub API, GraphQL API, etc., that have the power to sort the work of developers and build a powerful Salesforce environment.

Setting Up API Access: Easy Steps

If you’re ready to integrate the APIs with the Salesforce environment, follow these steps to ensure a seamless integration.

1. Enable API Access: You have to check if your Salesforce organization has API access or not. You can verify this in the ‘Company Information’ section under Setup.
2. Create a Connected App: This will be a link between an external application and the Salesforce environment. Generate a connect app by following the steps below:
   • Go to Setup and enter ‘App Manager’ in the Quick Find box.
   • Click ‘New Connected App’ and provide the necessary details. These can be the callback URL and selected OAuth scopes.
   • After saving, Salesforce will provide a Consumer Key and Consumer Secret. Use these for authentication purposes.
3. Authenticate Using OAuth: Salesforce APIs use OAuth 2.0 for secure authentication. So, keeping in mind your integration’s nature, you can choose from various OAuth flows, which are mentioned below:
   • Web Server Flow: This flow is suitable for web applications where the server can securely store the client’s secret.
   • User-Agent Flow: This framework is optimum for client-side applications like mobile apps.
   • JWT Bearer Token Flow: A powerful flow that is useful for server-to-server integrations without user interaction.
4. Select the flow that matches your application’s architecture requirements.

Working With Salesforce Data

After you have completed the authentication process, you can deal with Salesforce data involving:

1. CRUD Operations: This will lead to work on various attributes at one time, such as creating, reading, updating, or deleting records. For example, the REST API will help you generate a new account record by sending a POST request to the /sobjects/Account/endpoint with the complete account details in the request body.
   • Example: Create a new account using REST API:

POST /services/data/vXX.X/sobjects/Account/
{
"Name": "ABC Corp",
"BillingCity": "New York"
}

2. SOQL Queries: Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) helps you build queries to retrieve specific data. For instance, if you want to extract all accounts in a particular city, you can execute an SOQL query, as shown in the example below.
   • Example: Query all accounts in a specific city:

SELECT Id, Name FROM Account WHERE BillingCity = 'New York'

3. Handling Responses: Undoubtedly, API responses include status codes and data in JSON or XML format. Therefore, you have to look at whether your application parses these responses and handles errors if they occur.

Final Thoughts

Day by day, Salesforce is becoming a vital platform where various APIs can be integrated to improve the workflow. Companies can select the relevant Salesforce API according to their business requirements to meet their specific needs. 

We hope this article will help you integrate your Salesforce APIs!