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REST API

What is a REST API?​

REST is a set of guidelines that software can use to communicate over the internet in order to make integrations simple and scalable. A REST API (also called a “RESTful” API) is a specific type of API that follows these guidelines.

REST stands for Representational State Transfer

key terms:

  • A client is the person or program using the API. The client makes requests to the API in order to retrieve some information or change something within the application. Your web browser is a client — it interacts with APIs different websites to get page content from them. The requested info is sent back to your browser and displayed on your screen.
  • A resource is any piece of information that the API can provide the client. For instance, a resource in Facebook’s API could be a user, a page, a photo, or a post. Each resource has a unique name, called the resource identifier.
  • A server is used by the application that receives client requests, and contains resources that the client wants. The server has an API to interact with clients without giving them direct access to content stored in its database.

The Six Rules of REST APIs​

1. Client-Server Architecture​

2. Uniform Interface​

3. Stateless​

4. Layered System​

5. Cacheability​

6. Code on Demand (Optional)​

Good APIs Vs Bad APIs: 7 Tips for API Design​

Top 7 Ways to 10x Your API Performance​

Reference​