Automation glossary

REST API

A REST API is a web API that exposes data as resources at URLs and uses standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PATCH, and DELETE to work with them.

In plain language

Each kind of data has its own address, and the HTTP method says whether to read, create, change, or remove it.

Example

GET /orders/123 returns an order, and PATCH /orders/123 updates its status.

API · Endpoint · HTTP Request · JSON

Common misconception

Not every API that uses HTTP and JSON is fully RESTful, so each API’s own documentation still defines how it behaves.

Implementation guidance

Read the API’s resource and method docs, handle pagination and rate limits, use versioned endpoints, and send only the fields you mean to change.

Primary references

Roy Fielding: Representational State Transfer (REST)

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