REST

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style for designing distributed systems. It provides a set of guidelines for structuring communication between components, typically across a network. REST emphasizes a stateless, resource-oriented approach where operations are performed on uniquely identifiable resources, represented as URLs, using a standard set of HTTP methods.

Also known as: RESTful architecture, REST design principles.

Comparisons

  • REST vs. Client-Server Architecture: REST builds upon client-server architecture but adds specific constraints like statelessness and a uniform interface.
  • REST vs. CRUD: While REST maps closely to CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete), it includes additional guidelines for scalable and stateless interactions.

Pros

  • Uniform interface: Ensures consistent communication standards.
  • Stateless design: Simplifies server-side processing by keeping interactions independent.
  • Cacheability: Enhances performance through HTTP caching mechanisms.

Cons

  • Lacks built-in state management: Statelessness means REST does not inherently handle sessions.
  • Over-fetching or under-fetching data: Can occur if APIs are not designed efficiently.

Example

Imagine a REST-based system for an online library:

  • A book resource might be represented by the URL: http://example.com/books/1
  • To update the resource (e.g., change the title of the book), the client would issue an HTTP PUT request:

Request:

PUT /books/1 HTTP/1.1  
Host: example.com  
Content-Type: application/json  


{
  "title": "Updated Title"
}

Response:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK  
Content-Type: application/json  


{
  "id": 1,
  "title": "Updated Title",
  "author": "Original Author"
}

This interaction demonstrates REST principles without delving into implementation details of RESTful APIs. REST focuses on the structure and principles, making it adaptable to a variety of systems and use cases.

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