Alexis Kestler
APIs may be eating software, but REST APIs are feasting the most! As a technologist and API specialist, I‘ve seen firsthand how representational state transfer or REST has transformed modern API landscape – it‘s the ubiquitous language connecting mobile, web and IoT worlds.
In this comprehensive handbook, I‘m going to cover everything you need to know about REST APIs including key concepts, best practices, testing and security. You‘ll see real-world examples of REST API adoption, compare it to GraphQL, even walkthrough building a sample REST API.
So whether you‘re new to REST or a seasoned pro, grab a nice cup of Java as we API jam!
Why REST APIs Rule the World
REST has standardized how modern, scalable APIs are built across languages, frameworks and use cases. According to ProgrammableWeb, over 75% of all public APIs adopt REST – that‘s over 15,000+ in the wild!
The REST approach focussing on scalability, flexibility and human readability has many admirers. Leading technology analyst firm Gartner predicts that by 2022, over 50% of enterprise generated data will be created and processed outside centralized data centers and the cloud.
As digital experiences get increasingly decentralized, REST will continue to rule as the king of modern interfaces powering mobile and WebApps. Credit Suisse estimates the API management market to already be around $2 billion in size.
Many industry leaders today have embraced the REST mindset as well:
- Netflix – Provides dozens of public REST APIs for services like Netflix Roulette, catalog search, user management etc. High scale usage.
- Twitter – Offers REST APIs via Twitter developer platform to embed tweets, enable logins etc. Used extensively.
- New York Times – Enables developers to integrate NYT content via REST APIs. Used by many sites.
- Medium – The popular blogging site offers REST APIs for content search and analytics. Great documentation.
Clearly, REST has stood the test of time as the standard for web-friendly architecture powering services consumed by millions of external developers and apps daily.
Now that your appetite for APIs has been whetted, let‘s dig deeper into what makes REST tick!
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