REST API
A REST (Representational State Transfer) API is an architectural style for building web services that uses standard HTTP methods to perform operations on resources identified by URLs. RESTful APIs are stateless, meaning each request contains all the information needed to process it. They typically use JSON for data exchange and follow conventions like using nouns for endpoints (/users, /orders) and HTTP verbs for actions. REST is the most widely used API architecture on the web today.
Related Terms
A set of rules that lets software applications communicate with each other.
HTTP MethodA verb (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) that indicates the action to perform on a resource.
EndpointA specific URL where an API receives requests for a resource.
JSONA lightweight data format used to exchange information between systems.