Best Practices for REST over HTTP

1. Introduction

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style that uses HTTP protocols for communication. It emphasizes stateless communication and is designed to enable efficient and scalable web services.

2. Key Concepts

3. Resource Naming

Resource names should be intuitive and follow a consistent naming convention. Here are some best practices:

• Use nouns to represent resources.
• Use plural nouns for collections (e.g., /users).
• Use hierarchical structure for nested resources (e.g., /users/{userId}/orders).

4. HTTP Methods

RESTful APIs use standard HTTP methods to perform operations:

• GET: Retrieve data from a resource.
• POST: Create a new resource.
• PUT: Update an existing resource.
• DELETE: Remove a resource.

5. Status Codes

Status codes are essential for communicating the outcome of API requests. Here are some commonly used codes:

• 200 OK: The request succeeded.
• 201 Created: A new resource has been created.
• 204 No Content: The request was successful but there is no content to return.
• 400 Bad Request: The request could not be understood by the server.
• 404 Not Found: The requested resource could not be found.
• 500 Internal Server Error: The server encountered an unexpected condition.

6. Error Handling

Proper error handling is crucial for a good API experience. Use structured error responses:

{
    "error": {
        "code": 400,
        "message": "Invalid request parameter."
    }
}

7. Authentication

Secure your API by implementing authentication. Common methods include:

• OAuth 2.0
• API keys
• JWT (JSON Web Tokens)

8. FAQ