The difference between an API and a REST API

Question

The difference between an API and a REST API

In: 198

Answer 1

I think the thing people missing in their explanations of what REST is, is that it’s stateless. Other APIs might require multiple executions to accomplish a single-atomic task. With REST, the idea is that the entire GET/PUT/POST/DELETE call contains everything needed to complete the transaction. Are there APIs that are labeled REST that break this convention, yes…. but this is really the main idea of REST when the paper on it was first published.