How does REST API work?

What are its principles, methods, constraints, and best practices?

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) come in various types beyond REST (Representational State Transfer). Each type serves different purposes and is suited to different scenarios.

Here are some other API types, but lets look at REST today.

1. SOAP API (Simple Object Access Protocol)

• Description: A protocol for exchanging structured information in web services using XML.
• Features:
  • Strict standards.
  • Built-in error handling.
  • High security (supports WS-Security).
• Use Cases: Banking, payment gateways, or other applications requiring robust security and transactions.

2. GraphQL API

• Description: A query language for APIs that allows clients to request exactly the data they need.
• Features:
  • Single endpoint for queries and mutations.
  • Flexible and efficient data retrieval.
  • Avoids over-fetching and under-fetching of data.
• Use Cases: Applications with dynamic, hierarchical data like social media platforms or dashboards.

3. WebSocket API

• Description: Enables two-way communication between the client and server over a single TCP connection.
• Features:
  • Real-time, full-duplex communication.
  • Low latency.
• Use Cases: Chat applications, live updates (e.g., stock prices, game scores), collaborative tools.

4. gRPC (Google Remote Procedure Call)

• Description: A modern, high-performance framework based on Remote Procedure Calls (RPC).
• Features:
  • Supports multiple languages.
  • Efficient binary serialization with Protocol Buffers (Protobuf).
  • Bi-directional streaming.
• Use Cases: Microservices, real-time communication in distributed systems.

5. RPC API (Remote Procedure Call)

• Description: Allows executing code on a remote server as if it were a local function.
• Features:
  • Simplicity in calling remote methods.
  • Protocol agnostic (can use JSON-RPC, XML-RPC, etc.).
• Use Cases: Internal systems, legacy systems.

6. OpenAPI/Swagger

• Description: A specification for building and describing RESTful APIs.
• Features:
  • API documentation and client generation tools.
  • REST-based but standardized with OpenAPI schema.
• Use Cases: API development with clear documentation needs.

7. Streaming API

• Description: Allows continuous data transmission from server to client.
• Features:
  • Real-time data flow.
  • Persistent connection.
• Use Cases: Social media feeds, live event streams, IoT data streaming.

8. File-Based APIs

• Description: Allow interaction with files directly (e.g., importing/exporting JSON, XML, or CSV files).
• Features:
  • Offline access and batch processing.
• Use Cases: Data migration, integration with legacy systems.

9. Hypermedia API (HATEOAS - Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State)

• Description: A REST extension where servers provide links to available actions.
• Features:
  • Decouples client from server logic.
  • Improves navigability of APIs.
• Use Cases: Complex systems requiring clear, dynamic guidance for clients.

10. Command Line Interface (CLI) API

• Description: Allows APIs to be accessed and used via command-line tools.
• Features:
  • Suitable for developers and automation.
• Use Cases: DevOps tools, cloud service integrations.

11. Composite API

• Description: Combines multiple APIs into a single call, aggregating results.
• Features:
  • Efficient when interacting with multiple services.
• Use Cases: Mobile applications with high-performance needs.

12. JSON-RPC and XML-RPC

• Description: Lightweight remote procedure call protocols.
• Features:
  • Simplicity.
  • Uses JSON or XML for requests/responses.
• Use Cases: Legacy systems, basic RPC needs.

13. Hardware APIs

• Description: APIs that interact with hardware devices.
• Features:
  • Direct access to device features.
• Use Cases: IoT applications, device drivers, hardware integrations.

Each type of API has unique strengths and weaknesses, and the choice depends on the application's requirements, such as performance, scalability, or ease of integration.

Author

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