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Software Development

What is REST API?

Quick answer

An API that follows Representational State Transfer principles, using standard HTTP methods and URLs to work with resources.

REST API, explained

REST is an architectural style described by Roy Fielding in 2000. In a REST API, data is organized into resources, each identified by a URL, such as /posts or /posts/42. Clients use standard HTTP methods to act on them: GET to read, POST to create, PUT or PATCH to update, and DELETE to remove.

REST APIs are typically stateless, meaning each request contains everything the server needs to handle it, which makes them easier to scale. Responses are usually in JSON and use HTTP status codes like 200 for success, 404 for not found, and 500 for server errors. REST is the most common style for web APIs because it is simple and works with standard web tooling.

Related terms

API

Application Programming Interface: a defined set of rules that lets one piece of software request data or services from another.

FHIR

Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, an HL7 standard for exchanging healthcare data between systems using modern web APIs.

GraphQL

A query language and runtime for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need in a single request.

JSON

JavaScript Object Notation: a lightweight, text-based format for storing and exchanging structured data.

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