REST API Best Practices – REST Endpoint Design Examples

ref: freeCodeCamp

REST stands for Representational State Transfer

Any API (Application Programming Interface) that follows the REST design principle is said to be RESTful.

A REST API is a medium for two computers to communicate over HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), in the same way clients and servers communicate.

REST API Design Best Practices

• Use JSON as the Format for Sending and Receiving Data
• Use Nouns Instead of Verbs in Endpoints
• Name Collections with Plural Nouns
• Use Status Codes in Error Handling
• Use Nesting on Endpoints to Show Relationships
• Use Filtering, Sorting, and Pagination to Retrieve the Data Requested
• Use SSL for Security
• Be Clear with Versioning
  • the commonest versioning systems is semantic versioning
  • An example of semantic versioning is 1.0.0, 2.1.2, and 3.3.4.
    • The first number represents the major version,
    • the second number represents the minor version,
    • and the third represents the patch version.
• Provide Accurate API Documentation