Course Description
REST is an API architectural style that relies heavily on industry standards as well as the core foundational concepts that power the internet. This approach allows for common, repeatable usage patterns and fits with widely accepted standards for API access and documentation. Many prepackaged modules and templates exist for REST APIs, but it is also possible—and in fact commonplace—for REST APIs to be created from scratch.
Many API documentation formats exist, but the most common and perhaps the easiest to use is called OpenAPI. It allows owners of REST APIs to publish interactive documentation that is automatically generated based on the capabilities of the API. You will learn how to read OpenAPI documentation and run API tests directly from it.
The most prevalent types of API actions and HTTP methods are covered, including read operations using the GET method, send operations using the POST method and update methods using the PUT, PATCH and DELETE methods.
What You'll Learn
- Describe the purpose and format of OpenAPI documentation, including how to read it and run API tests directly from it
- List and describe the most common HTTP methods used with REST APIs
- Perform read operations by understanding how GET requests receive data from REST APIs
- Send and update data by identifying how write requests pass request bodies to REST APIs
- Use POST requests to send operations to REST APIs
- Update object state using the PUT, PATCH, and DELETE methods
Key Takeaways
- REST is an API architectural style that relies on industry standards and the core foundational concepts that power the internet, enabling common, repeatable usage patterns.
- REST APIs can be built using prepackaged modules and templates, but it is also commonplace to create them from scratch.
- OpenAPI is the most common and arguably easiest API documentation format, and it lets REST API owners publish interactive, automatically generated documentation based on the API's capabilities.
- GET is used for read operations, POST is used for send operations, and PUT, PATCH, and DELETE are used for update operations.
- Write requests send request bodies to REST APIs, while GET requests receive data from them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this course cover?
It covers the REST API architectural style, how to read OpenAPI documentation and run API tests from it, and the most prevalent API actions and HTTP methods, including GET for read operations, POST for send operations, and PUT, PATCH, and DELETE for update operations.
What HTTP methods will I learn about?
The course covers the most common HTTP methods, including the GET method for reading data, the POST method for sending data, and the PUT, PATCH, and DELETE methods for updating object state.
What is OpenAPI and how is it used in this course?
OpenAPI is the most common API documentation format, allowing REST API owners to publish interactive documentation that is automatically generated based on the API's capabilities. In this course you will learn how to read OpenAPI documentation and run API tests directly from it.
What lessons are included in this course?
The course includes four lessons: OpenAPI Documentation, GET Requests, POST Requests, and Updating Object State Using HTTP Methods.
What skills does this course help develop?
It supports skills such as API Design, API Management, REST API Development, RESTful API, Rest Client, and Advanced Rest Client.
