What is an API?

API stands for Application Programming Interface. it is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other.

APIs are the communication between two computer systems.

What does REST stand for?

REST stands for Representational State Transfer.

• RESTful APIs, or Representational State Transfer APIs, is a crucial component in modern web development.

• They allow communication between different applications and systems over the internet, enabling the exchange of data and information.

Simply put, a RESTful API defines a set of rules and standards for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting data from a server. The data is typically in the form of JSON or XML, and the API uses HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform these operations.

The HTTP requests allow you to operate with the database, such as:

• GET: GET request is used to read/retrieve data from a web server. GET returns an HTTP status code of 200 (OK).

• POST: POST request is used to send data (file, form data, etc.) to the server. it returns an HTTP status code of 201

• PUT: A PUT request is used to modify the data on the server.

• PATCH: PATCH is similar to a PUT request, but the only difference is, it modifies a part of the data. It will only replace the content that you want to update.

• DELETE: A DELETE request is used to delete the data on the server at a specified location.

These operations stand for four possible actions, known as CRUD: Create, Read, Update and Delete

The statelessness of RESTful APIs prevents the server from storing any client-specific data and that is one of its distinguishing characteristics. Instead, each request made to the server by the client must contain all relevant information. As a result, RESTful APIs are scalable since they can process several requests at once.

To use a RESTful API, you need to send an HTTP request to a specific endpoint at a specific location on your server where a specific action can be performed. The endpoint then returns a response, which is a confirmation of the action taken or the data requested.

Wrapping up

RESTful APIs are important aspect of modern web development and are essential for the seamless exchange of data and information between different systems. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced developer, understanding RESTful APIs is essential for building robust and scalable applications.