It is also known as restful API . It is an application programming interface (API or web API) that confirms to the constraints of REST architectural style and allows for interaction with restful web services.
REST stands for representational state transfer and was created by computer scientist Roy Fielding.
API
“API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other.”
API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an app like Facebook, send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you’re using an API.
An API is a software which can be used by other softwares, to communicate with other softwares or even hardwares. It acts as a bridge between different softwares and devices.
If you want to interact with a computer or system to retrieve information or perform a function, an API helps you communicate what you want to that system so it can understand and fulfill the request
An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of functions that allows applications to access data and interact with external software components, operating systems, or microservices. To simplify, an API delivers a user response to a system and sends the system’s response back to a user.
REST
REST is acronym for REpresentational State Transfer. It is architectural style for distributed hypermedia systems and was first presented by Roy Fielding in 2000 in his famous dissertation.
REST is a set of architectural constraints, not a protocol or a standard. API developers can implement REST in a variety of ways.
REST is a set of guidelines that can be implemented as needed, making REST APIs faster and more lightweight, with increased scalability—perfect for internet of things and mobile development.
ADVANTAGES OF REST API
1. Separation between the client and the server: the REST protocol totally separates the user interface from the server and the data storage. This has some advantages when making developments.
2. Visibility, reliability and scalability. The separation between client and server has one evident advantage, and that is that each development team can scale the product without too much problem. They can migrate to other servers or make all kinds of changes in the database, provided the data from each request is sent correctly. The separation makes it easier to have the front and the back on different servers, and this makes the apps more flexible to work with.
3. The REST API is always independent of the type of platform or languages: the REST API always adapts to the type of syntax or platforms being used, which gives considerable freedom when changing or testing new environments within the development. With a REST API you can have PHP, Java, Python or Node.js servers. The only thing is that it is indispensable that the responses to the requests should always take place in the language used for the information exchange, normally XML or JSON.