Authorization

For continued use of the service, an authorization token (API key), transmitted as URL query parameter, over secure HTTP is required. This simple method of authorization has advantages over other more complex methods in that it greatly simplifies the client side interfacing with the service, while still securing the content of the request and response.

Using tokens over secure HTTP allows the software developer to access the service directly from the browser or command line and allows the developer to use those software tools that he is most familiar within his language of choice. This authorization approach is equivalent to the one adopted by the Google Maps API.

Example

An example auth token is passed with the request by appending a &token=<key> query parameter to the request URL:

https://api.seamon.io/forecast?waypts=(Reykjavik;now)&token=ABCD1234

Important

It is necessary to apply the secure HTTPS protocol in order to conceal the request. The URI part of the request often contains locations, routes and other information that may be sensitive to the user, but furthermore, the request also contains the dedicated API token that has been assigned to the user. The SeaMon-API service will only accept requests over a secure HTTPS connection.