Representational State Transfer (REST) is an architectural style for designing networked applications. It defines a set of constraints for how clients and servers communicate, primarily over the HTTP protocol. RESTful APIs, which adhere to these constraints, enable seamless interaction where clients send requests to a server and receive data, commonly in formats like XML or JSON.

Fundamental HTTP Verbs in REST

REST APIs leverage standard HTTP methods to perform various operations on resources. Here are the most frequently used ones:

• GET: Employed to retrieve data from the server. A successful GET request typically results in an HTTP 200 (OK) status. Failures might include 404 (Not Found) for a non-existent resource or 400 (Bad Request) for an invalid request.
  • Example: GET /products/5 (Fetches details of product with ID 5)
• POST: Used for creating new resources on the server. Upon successful creation, the server usually responds with an HTTP 201 (Created) status.
  • Example: POST /orders with a request body containing new order details.
• PUT: Designed for updating an entire resource. If the specified resource already exists, it will be completely replaced with the data provided in the request. If it does not exist, a new resource may be created at that URI.
  • Example: PUT /users/123 with a request body containing the full updated user object.
• PATCH: Utilized for making partial updates to an existing resource. Unlike PUT, PATCH only sends the specific data fields that need modification, leaving other fields untouched. This is more efficient for minor updates.
  • Example: PATCH /users/123 with a request body containing only the email field to be updated.
• DELETE: Employed to remove a specific resource from the server. A successful deletion typically returns an HTTP 200 (OK) or 204 (No Content) status.
  • Example: DELETE /posts/789 (Removes the post with ID 789)

By adhering to these well-defined HTTP methods, REST APIs offer a clear, consistent, and standardized approach to client-server communication, simplifying the development and integration of web services.