REST API glossary: Journeyman level
22 REST API terms at the Journeyman level, each with a short definition and a link to its full page.
Updated
- 409 Conflict
- The request clashes with the current state, like a duplicate.
- 422 Unprocessable Content
- Well-formed data whose values break the rules.
- 429 Too Many Requests
- You sent too many requests; wait and try again.
- API Key
- A secret string that identifies the calling program.
- API Versioning
- Letting an API change without breaking existing clients.
- Authentication
- Proving who you are.
- Authorization
- Deciding what an identified user is allowed to do.
- Bearer Token
- A token sent as "Authorization: Bearer ..."; whoever has it is treated as the user.
- Cookie
- Small data the browser stores and sends back to the same site on every request.
- CORS
- Server rules that tell browsers which other sites may call it.
- CRUD
- Create, Read, Update, Delete: the four basic data actions.
- Filtering and Sorting
- Query-string parameters that narrow and order a list.
- Idempotent Method
- A request with the same effect whether sent once or many times.
- JWT
- A signed token carrying who the user is and when it expires.
- Location Header
- A header pointing to a new resource or a redirect target.
- OpenAPI
- A standard machine-readable description of an API.
- Pagination
- Returning a large list in pages with a total count.
- Problem Details
- A standard JSON shape for API error responses.
- Resource Naming
- Name endpoints with plural nouns and IDs, letting the method be the verb.
- Safe Method
- A method that only reads and never changes data, like GET.
- Stateless
- Each request carries all it needs; the server remembers nothing in between.
- Swagger UI
- An interactive web page, built from OpenAPI, for trying an API.