With an API

The SCORM API is the basis for all communication between an LMS and a SCO. The use of a common API makes many aspects of interoperability and reusability possible. The API is a set of pre-defined functions that developers can depend on being available, without the need to get involved in how they are implemented.

SCOs use the API to communicate their execution state, that is, whether they've started and when they've finished. This is vital since in order to control and organize a learning experience, in SCORM only one SCO is allowed to run at a time. A SCO needs to “sign off” before another may be launched.

The API also includes checks whether a message succeeded, and if not, what went wrong. Finally, the API provides a mechanism for passing information back and forth. In our example, the SCO requested the student's name, then used the data to personalize the lesson. As we'll see in our discussion of the SCORM Data Model, many other types of information can be communicated as well. Some examples include quiz scores, the last page visited, and the amount of time a learner has spent with a particular SCO.