REST API stands for Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface, which is an architectural development model based on a website to create scalable and effective website services. This API enables communication between different software systems through HTTP requests and responses.
RESTful APIs adhere to a set of constraints and principles such as statelessness, uniform interfaces, and caching, allowing for much simpler and more flexible integration with other systems.
By utilizing HTTP verbs such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, REST APIs allow clients to interact directly with resources on the server in a predictable and standardized way. RESTful APIs have become the industry standard in website services due to their simplicity, scalability, and compatibility with various programming languages and frameworks. If you are still confused about REST APIs, try looking at the example below.
REST API Examples
Some well-known REST API examples include: Twitter API, Facebook Graph API, YouTube Data API, Google Maps API, and GitHub API. In addition, many large companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and even PayPal have their own REST APIs to support integration with their financial services. Of course, in integrating some of the REST APIs that have been mentioned, certain methods are used.
List of Methods in REST API
There are several methods (or often called “HTTP verbs”) that are implemented in REST APIs in interacting with a number of resources on the server, including:
- GET: can be used to pull or read data from resources on the server.
- POST: used when you want to create or insert new data into resources on the server.
- PUT: functions to update or modify data on resources that already exist on the server.
- DELETE: is a command to clean or delete resources or those on the server.
- PATCH: functions to update data on a resource on the server, but only changes a small part of the data.
HEAD: used to obtain metadata from resources on the server, such as headers, without retrieving the contents of the resource.
OPTIONS: used to obtain a list of methods available on resources on the server.
Each of these methods has its own purpose and use in interacting with resources on the server. In practice, RESTful applications usually implement a combination of these methods to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on resources on the server.
Before discussing testing, we recommend an article about API metrics that should be monitored so that performance can be more optimal.
REST API Testing
REST API testing is a testing process carried out to ensure that the REST API that is built is functioning properly and meets the specified specifications. There are several types of REST API testing that can be done, including:
- Unit testing
Performed at the code level to ensure that each function in the API runs correctly. - Integration testing
Performed at the system level to ensure that the API can interact with other systems and perform the expected operations. - Functional testing
Performed to ensure that each API function runs according to functional specifications. - Performance testing
Performed to ensure that the API can handle the expected load and provide a response within a reasonable time.
Examples of REST API testing include GET testing to ensure that the requested data can be retrieved correctly, POST testing to ensure that new data can be added correctly to the intended resource, and DELETE testing to ensure that the selected resource can be deleted correctly.
In addition, REST API testing can also include security and authentication testing to ensure that the API is secure and can only be accessed by authorized parties. Examples of popular REST API testing tools are Postman, Insomnia, and Swagger. If the tool for monitoring API is famous for example Netmonk Prime.
Reference sources:
https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/api/what-is-a-rest-api
