In the early internet age, APIs evolved significantly, with enterprises recognizing the potential of the internet to offer application services beyond just hosting corporate websites. Key technologies during this period included Java, .NET, and XML, which played crucial roles in developing distributed applications and simplifying data exchange. The introduction of web services marked a pivotal shift, as these self-contained software pieces could operate over HTTP, enabling platform and language independence through XML-based communication. Web services relied on components like SOAP, a messaging framework for standardized XML data exchange, and WSDL, which described a web service's functions. This era also saw the emergence of Application Service Providers (ASPs), laying the groundwork for modern software-as-a-service (SaaS) models, as they offered businesses an outsourced solution for developing, hosting, and managing applications. Understanding this evolution provides critical insights into the foundations and trajectory of modern web APIs.