APIs api web backend

What is REST API?

Definition

A REST (Representational State Transfer) API is a web service that follows REST architectural constraints: stateless communication, uniform resource identifiers (URLs), standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), and resource representations (usually JSON).

Why It Matters

REST APIs are the backbone of modern web and mobile applications. Nearly every service you use — from social media to payment processing — exposes a REST API. Understanding REST conventions (status codes, resource naming, idempotency) is essential for backend development.

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