(Application Programming Interface)

It is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. It defines how requests can be made to access and interact with the services or functionalities provided by a particular software or platform.

RESTful APIs

There are different API standards used in various applications. One of the widely used type of APIs is called RESTful APIs or REST APIs. REST APIs work on top of the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, in short the HTTP protocol to accept request. REST APIs can be accessed by sending HTTP requests.

Most common HTTP requests used in REST APIs:

GET : Retrieve existing data

POST : Add new data

PUT : Update existing data

PATCH : Partially update existing data

DELETE : Delete data

Response Codes

Once a REST API receives an HTTP request, it returns a response as an HTTP status code. Status codes can be categorized based on the starting digit as follows:

1xx: Information response

2xx: Successful operation

3xx: Redirection

4xx: Client error