# History of APIs - Amazon E-Commerce

**Author:** kinlane  
**Canonical:** https://apievangelist.com/2011/01/28/history-of-apis-amazon-ecommerce/

[Amazon.com Web Services (AWS)](http://aws.amazon.com/) allowed third party sites to search and display products from Amazon.com. Product data was made accessible using XML and SOAP.

From day one the API was integrated with the [Amazon.com Affiliate Program](https://affiliate-program.amazon.com/), allowing developers to monetize their sites through purchases made at [Amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com) via links from their web sites.

Internet visionary Tim O'Reilly was quoted in original Amazon Web Services press release saying, "This is a significant leap forward in the next-generation programmable internet."

APIs and Amazon both have roots in e-commerce, but APIs were quickly applied to other areas resulting in the social media, cloud computing and now the mobile technology movements.