REST
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Programming
| Stands for | Representational state transfer |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
REST stands for Representational state transfer, a programming abbreviation.
An architectural style for web APIs in which resources are identified by URLs and manipulated with standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT and DELETE, usually exchanging JSON. Each request carries everything the server needs, so servers keep no client session state.
Example: The mobile app talks to a REST API: GET /orders lists orders and POST /orders creates one.
Usage notes
Defined by Roy Fielding in his 2000 doctoral dissertation at UC Irvine; Fielding was also a principal author of the HTTP specification. Many APIs described as "RESTful" ignore parts of his constraints, such as hypermedia links. REST largely displaced SOAP for public web APIs, while GraphQL and gRPC compete with it for some uses.
Related abbreviations
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