Common API Terminologies
Lets understand Common terminologies we encounter when working with RESTful APIs.
Understanding these terms is essential for developing and consuming RESTful services effectively.
1.REST – stands for Representational State Transfer, and it is an architectural style for creating web services.
2.Resource – Object or data that can be accessed and manipulated through the API.
3.URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) – A URL is a string that specifies the location of a resource on the web. In REST, URLs are used to identify resources.
4.HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) – Protocol used for communication between a client and a server in REST APIs.
5.CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) – Operations that can be performed on the resource
6. Request – An HTTP method used to perform an operation on a resource, such as GET, POST, PUT, or DELETE.
7.Response – The HTTP message sent by the server to the client in response to a request.
8.Status Code – An HTTP status code is a three-digit number in the response that indicates the outcome of the request. Common status codes include 200 (OK), 201 (Created), 404 (Not Found), and 500 (Internal Server Error).
9.Headers – HTTP headers are key-value pairs included in both requests and responses. They convey metadata about the request or response, such as content type, authentication information.
10.Query Parameters – Query parameters are included in the URL to filter or paginate the results when making GET requests
11.Payload – The data sent in the body of an HTTP request or response, often formatted in JSON or XML.
12.Authentication – Methods used to verify the identity of clients and secure API access.
13.Authorization – The process of granting or denying access to a resource based on the authenticated user’s permissions.
14.Rate Limiting – Rate limiting is a mechanism used to control the number of requests a client can make to an API within a given time period, preventing abuse and overloading of the server.
15.Versioning – The practice of maintaining different versions of an API to support backward compatibility and enable new features.
16.Pagination – The practice of splitting large responses into smaller, more manageable chunks to improve performance and reduce network overhead.
17.Cache control – is a mechanism that allows web servers and clients (such as web browsers) to control the caching of web resources. It helps in optimizing the performance and reducing the load on web servers by storing and reusing previously fetched resources locally.
18.Cross-Origin Resource Sharing(CORS) – The mechanism used to enable cross-domain requests in web applications.
19.API Documentation – The process of creating and maintaining documentation for an API, popular tools are Swagger or Open API.
20.API Gateway – The component that acts as an entry point to an API, providing features like authentication, rate limiting, and caching.
21.Rest Assured– REST Assured is a Java library used for testing and validating the REST APIs.
22.Schema– It defines the data format, including the data types. This schema validates the API requests.
23.Swagger-Swagger is an open-source framework for designing, building, documenting, and consuming RESTful web services. It provides a set of tools and standards for creating interactive API documentation
