In this tutorial, we aim to provide a solid understanding of Representational State Transfer (REST) and its principles. You will learn the basics of REST, its architectural style, constraints, and how it is used in web applications.
After this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Explain what REST is
- Describe the principles of REST
- Understand how REST operates
Prerequisites:
- Basic understanding of HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)
- Familiarity with basic web development concepts
REST stands for Representational State Transfer. It is an architectural style used in web development to create lightweight, scalable and maintainable services.
A RESTful web service (or API) provides resources (like data objects) and a set of methods to read, create, update or delete them. It uses standard HTTP methods, like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.
REST has several key principles:
1. Stateless: Each request from a client to a server must contain all the information needed to understand and process the request. The server should not store anything about the latest HTTP request the client made. Each request is processed independently.
2. Client-Server: The client and the server are separate entities that interact over a network. The client is responsible for the user interface and user experience, while the server handles data storage and retrieval.
3. Cacheable: To improve performance, responses from the server can be cached (stored) on the client side. The server must indicate whether a response is cacheable or not.
4. Layered system: A client cannot ordinarily tell whether it is connected directly to the end server, or to an intermediary along the way.
5. Uniform Interface: The method of communication between a client and a server must be uniform, simplifying the architecture and increasing visibility of interactions.
REST operates using HTTP methods. The four most common methods are:
GET: Retrieve a resource.
POST: Create a new resource.
PUT: Update an existing resource.
DELETE: Remove a resource.
Below are some examples of how RESTful requests look like.
Example 1: GET
Here's an example of a GET request. It retrieves a resource - in this case, a list of users.
GET /users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
In this example, /users is the resource we're retrieving. The expected result would be a list of users.
Example 2: POST
This is a POST request, which creates a new resource - a new user.
POST /users HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "name": "John Doe", "email": "john@example.com" }
In this case, we're sending a JSON payload with the request which contains data for the new user.
In this tutorial, we have covered the basics of REST, its principles, and how it operates. REST is a powerful architectural style that allows for easy communication between client and server.
Your next steps should be to dive deeper into each HTTP method and learn how they are used in more complex scenarios.
Additional resources:
- RESTful Web Services: A Tutorial by Dr. Roy Fielding, who introduced the REST architectural style.
Exercise 1: Write a GET request for retrieving a single user with an id of 1.
Solution:
GET /users/1 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Exercise 2: Write a PUT request to update the email of user with an id of 1.
Solution:
PUT /users/1 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "email": "newemail@example.com" }
Exercise 3: Write a DELETE request to remove the user with an id of 1.
Solution:
DELETE /users/1 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Keep practicing with different HTTP methods and resources, and you'll become proficient in using RESTful APIs in no time!