REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style for designing networked applications. It relies on a stateless, client-server communication protocol, typically using HTTP.

📌 Key Concepts

  • Resource-Based: Everything is a resource (e.g., /users, /products)
  • Stateless: Each request contains all the information needed to process it
  • Standardized: Uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE)
  • Cacheable: Responses can be cached for improved performance

📜 HTTP Methods

Method Purpose Example Request
GET Retrieve data GET /api/products
POST Create new data POST /api/users
PUT Update existing PUT /api/users/123
DELETE Remove data DELETE /api/products/456
REST_API

📌 Status Codes

  • 200 OK: Request was successful
  • 404 Not Found: Resource doesn't exist
  • 500 Internal Server Error: Server-side issue

🔧 Tools for Development

🧠 Best Practices

  1. Use proper HTTP status codes
  2. Keep responses consistent
  3. Implement rate limiting
  4. Document endpoints clearly
API_TOOL

For deeper exploration, check our API Tutorial section.