REST API Explained for Beginners

A REST API is a way for two systems to communicate over the internet using simple rules. When your frontend talks to a backend server to fetch data, update a profile, or submit a form, it’s usually using a REST API.

REST is built on standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. Each method represents an action — fetching data, creating something new, updating existing data, or removing it.

APIs use URLs (endpoints) to represent resources. For example, /users might return all users, while /users/1 returns a specific user. Data is typically exchanged in JSON format, making it easy to read and work with.