?? What's REST, you ask?

REST stands for "REpresentational State Transfer," leveraging current HTTP protocols for Web APIs! It's incredibly adaptable, dealing with various calls and data types without constraints. Unlike SOAP, REST APIs aren't limited to a single XML format, offering flexibility in data representation. Applications following REST principles are deemed 'RESTful.' ??

Roy Fielding defined REST two decades ago as an alternative to SOAP, proposing standards for web applications performing CRUD functions through HTTP. APIs, the dynamic duo for system interactions, facilitate communication between two systems. ??

Thinking of RESTful APIs?

Plan ahead! Select public resources wisely. RESTful APIs adhere to principles like flexible data interchange, HTTP-only implementation, adjustable request/response formats, and speedy HTTP operations on resources. ???

A well-designed REST API?

Unique entity identification, standardized data access, resource versatility, and stateless exchanges are key. Adhere to principles like client/server architecture, detachment, and cacheability for a successful REST model! ??

HTTP components?

Two halves: request and response structures. Familiarize yourself with request line, header fields, and body for requests, and status line, header fields, and body for responses. ????

Breaking down server interactions into four steps:

Send data, Add data, Change important data, Delete data. CRUD operation is essential, coined by James Martin in 1983. ???

HTTP Status Codes?

From 1xx for Information to 5xx for Server Error, these codes ensure smoother interactions with servers. ??

HTTP GET?

Read a resource representation with status 200 (OK) for success, 404 (NOT FOUND) or 400 (BAD REQUEST) for errors. ??

HTTP PUT?

Change a resource. Risky, but alters server-side resources with a return code of 200 or 204. Data sent using PUT won't be lost! ?

HTTP POST?

Create new resources, often used for layered resource construction. Return codes 201 or 202 for success, along with the resource's address in the 'Location' header. ??

HTTP DELETE?

Remove a resource's ID with status 200 (OK) or 204 (NO CONTENT) for success. Clean and efficient! ?????

Ready to master the art of Software Testing? Consider delving deeper into this fascinating world at [QASkills.io](https://qaskills.io). ????

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