🌐 Understanding the Basics of REST APIs

If you’ve ever used a weather app or fetched data from a website, chances are you’ve interacted with a REST API. But what exactly is a REST API? And why is it so essential in today’s web development world?

Let’s break it down step by step.

---

🤔 What is an API?

An API (Application Programming Interface) is like a waiter at a restaurant. You (the client) tell the waiter what you want (make a request), the waiter takes it to the kitchen (server), and then brings back your food (the response).

In tech terms, an API allows two software systems to communicate with each other.

---

🔄 What is REST?

REST (Representational State Transfer) is a set of rules and conventions for building web APIs. RESTful APIs use standard HTTP methods to perform actions on resources.

The 4 most common HTTP methods are:

• GET - Retrieve data
• POST - Create new data
• PUT - Update existing data
• DELETE - Remove data

---

🧱 REST API Example

🛠️ Tools to Try It Out

• Postman — For sending API requests
• JSONPlaceholder — Free fake REST API for testing

🧠 Final Thoughts

REST APIs are everywhere. Understanding how they work is a key skill for modern developers. Once you grasp the basics, you can build full-stack apps that talk to servers, fetch live data, and power real-world features.