REST API

REST (Representational State Transfer) maps CRUD operations onto HTTP methods. Each method has well-defined semantics that clients and servers can rely on — using the right method makes your API predictable and cache-friendly.

HTTP Methods

Method	Purpose	Idempotent	Safe
GET	Read a resource	Yes	Yes
POST	Create a resource	No	No
PUT	Replace a resource	Yes	No
PATCH	Partially update	No	No
DELETE	Remove a resource	Yes	No

Idempotent means calling the method multiple times has the same effect as calling it once. Safe means the method should not modify server state.

Try It

Select a method below to see a sample request and response:

GET /api/posts/1

HTTP/1.1 200

{ "id": 1, "title": "Hello" }

Design Principles

Good REST APIs use nouns for resource paths (/posts/1) and verbs via HTTP methods, not in the URL (/getPost/1). Status codes communicate outcome: 200 for success, 201 for created, 204 for deleted with no body, 404 for not found.

Keep responses consistent in shape, version your API when breaking changes are unavoidable, and document the contract so clients can integrate without guessing.