REST APIs, Explained

The mental model behind the web's dominant API style - things live at URLs, HTTP methods are the verbs you apply to them, and every request stands on its own.

1. Resources & Verbs - The REST Mental Model The whole of REST rests on three ideas: things (resources) live at URLs, HTTP methods are the verbs you apply to them, and every request carries everything the server needs (statelessness).
2. Designing Endpoints - Conventions That Read Well The practical conventions of good REST: name URLs with nouns not verbs, treat collections and items consistently, return meaningful status codes, and use query params for filtering, sorting, and pagination.
3. REST in the Real World - Where It Bends and Where It Breaks The plain truth: REST is a style, not a strict law, and most 'REST' APIs are pragmatic. Here are its real pain points - over- and under-fetching, too many round trips, and versioning - and where they lead.