What is Representational State Transfer (REST)?
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A REST API is just a set of rules that define how an API communicates. In order for an API to be RESTful, it needs to follow these rules:
* Stateless communication. You can’t say “add a number,” and “add one more to the previous number.” Instead, you have to say “My number is 1,” followed by “My number is now 2.”
* Layered servers, meaning each server has it’s own job that it’s responsible for.
* Caches data
* Standardized format between different parts of the system which you’ll use send information
The actual rules are a bit more detailed, but that’s the basic gist of it. If you want more info, here’s a good webpage, though it’s definitely beyond ELI5, but so is REST APIs: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-is-a-rest-api
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