a simple example
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[acronym]{glossaries}
\makeglossaries
%from documentation
%\newacronym[⟨key-val list⟩]{⟨label ⟩}{⟨abbrv ⟩}{⟨long⟩}
%above is short version of this
% \newglossaryentry{⟨label ⟩}{type=\acronymtype,
% name={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% description={⟨long⟩},
% text={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% first={⟨long⟩ (⟨abbrv ⟩)},
% plural={⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix},
% firstplural={⟨long⟩\glspluralsuffix\space (⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix)},
% ⟨key-val list⟩}
\newacronym{cd}{CD}{compact disk}
\begin{document}
\noindent
First use \gls{cd}\\
subsequent \gls{cd}
\printglossaries
\end{document}
glossaries supports multiple nomenclatures so you can still use something like this
\newglossaryentry{tree}{name={tree},
description={trees are the better humans}}
and because in the above case the type is automatically set to 'main' it will give you a second list called 'Nomenclature'
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[acronym]{glossaries}
\makeglossaries
%from documentation
%\newacronym[⟨key-val list⟩]{⟨label ⟩}{⟨abbrv ⟩}{⟨long⟩}
%above is short version of this
% \newglossaryentry{⟨label ⟩}{type=\acronymtype,
% name={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% description={⟨long⟩},
% text={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% first={⟨long⟩ (⟨abbrv ⟩)},
% plural={⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix},
% firstplural={⟨long⟩\glspluralsuffix\space (⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix)},
% ⟨key-val list⟩}
\newacronym{cd}{CD}{compact disk}
\newglossaryentry{tree}{name={tree},
description={trees are the better humans}}
\begin{document}
\noindent
First use \gls{cd}\\
subsequent \gls{cd}
Nomenclature \gls{tree}
\printglossaries
\end{document}
To finally get what you are after, you could use
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage[acronym]{glossaries}
\makeglossaries
%from documentation
%\newacronym[⟨key-val list⟩]{⟨label ⟩}{⟨abbrv ⟩}{⟨long⟩}
%above is short version of this
% \newglossaryentry{⟨label ⟩}{type=\acronymtype,
% name={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% description={⟨long⟩},
% text={⟨abbrv ⟩},
% first={⟨long⟩ (⟨abbrv ⟩)},
% plural={⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix},
% firstplural={⟨long⟩\glspluralsuffix\space (⟨abbrv ⟩\glspluralsuffix)},
% ⟨key-val list⟩}
%\newacronym{api}{API}{Application Programming Interface }
%%% define the acronym and use the see= option
\newglossaryentry{api}{type=\acronymtype, name={API}, description={Application
Programming Interface}, first={Application
Programming Interface (API)}, see=[Glossary:]{apig}}
%%% The glossary entry the acronym links to
\newglossaryentry{apig}{name={API},
description={An Application Programming Interface (API) is a particular set
of rules and specifications that a software program can follow to access and
make use of the services and resources provided by another particular software
program that implements that API}}
\begin{document}
\noindent
First use \gls{api}\\
subsequent \gls{api}
\newpage
%%% have to add the apig because it is not used in the text body
\glsadd{apig}
\printglossary[type=\acronymtype]
%%% \newpage just to demonstrate that links are correct
\newpage
\printglossary[type=main]
\end{document}
