tl;dr: It already is "the MediaWiki web API". A codename as well is fine.
Searching mediawiki.org, "web API" is almost as popular as "MediaWiki API", and some of the uses are correctly for extension APIs and Parsoid's API. So "the MediaWiki web API" is a descriptive name that requires minimal changes.
That doesn't preclude us giving it a cool codename: The MediaWiki web API, codename "Unicorns Are Go", ... Bots use "Jimbo", the MediaWiki web API, to.. Another possibility is Starbright, an homage to Messrs. Starling and Brion, and 80s Madonna. Whatever we use should have awesome ASCII art in http://en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php
Some inline responses below.
Tim Starling wrote:
Note that Nemo bis changed the name from "MediaWiki API" to "WebAPI"
on the basis of disambiguation, in this revision:
I don't like smash words, WebAPI already sounds dated, and Mozilla uses it https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/WebAPI for advanced browser features so developers might think it describes ResourceLoader modules like mediaWiki.Api, mediaWiki.loader, etc.
https://www.mediawiki.org/w/index.php?title=API
:Main_page&diff=644948&oldid=642646
I have previously suggested "web API" as a term to distinguish it from the set of PHP classes and hooks used by extensions. API stands for application programmer interface, and traditionally refers to functions and classes -- using the term for a non-RPC HTTP interface is really rather awkward.
Neither "MediaWiki API" nor "Web API" distinguishes it from the proposed REST API.
Using "MediaWiki REST API" for the latter works. Or cool codenames for both.
On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 3:47 AM, Erik Moeller erik@wikimedia.org wrote:
"Core" seems a reasonable qualifier, though, no? Seems like the content API and a lot of other proposed interfaces are by definition outside the core. So why not MW core API or just core API for short?
But extensions also provide this API. api.php?action=echomarkread&all=true http://en.wikipedia.beta.wmflabs.org/w/api.php?action=echomarkread&all=true isn't part of core but is the same MediaWiki web API. Also see my signature below :)