REST API

term_id: rest_api

Category: engineering_practice

Definition

REST APIs enable communication between clients and servers by utilizing stateless operations over HTTP protocols such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. They structure resources as URIs and use standard formats like JSON for data exchange. This approach ensures scalability, simplicity, and interoperability across different platforms, making it the de facto standard for web services and microservices architectures in modern software development.

Summary

A Representational State Transfer API is an architectural style for designing networked applications that relies on standard HTTP methods.

Key Concepts

  • Statelessness
  • HTTP Methods
  • Resource-Based URIs
  • JSON Serialization

Use Cases

  • Microservices communication
  • Mobile app backend integration
  • Third-party data access

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