What are the main advantages of the Restful Api?

Question

Regarding the REST API maturity model, level 2 consists of "HTTP + Resources + Verbs". What are the advantages over level 1 and zero? In addition to organizing the API.

Answer 1

I will quote some advantages below:

1. Standardization of the API
   • Division of functionalities by resources
   • Standardization of Uris and parameters
2. Better use of HTTP protocol resources
   • Convention and use of documentation-based resources (RFC7231 for example)
   • Unifying resource features into a single URL by deriving HTTP methods for registration, change, deletion, etc...
3. On the last level, we take advantage of HATEOAS as a way to present a resource trail that can be followed with the return of the API
   • With this we can include links that are interesting to the resource, such as links to other pages, to the resource itself, to resources related to the resource, among others
   • It is also supported by documentation (RFC5988 and a draft)
   • The use of links makes it easier for the integrator to have access and navigability to derived resources in a practical and fast way.

Some examples related to the points mentioned above. For the first case, we can apply standardization as follows:

* https://minhaapi.com/getCar?id=2
* https://minhaapi.com/getCustomer?id=5&name=nullptr
* https://minhaapi.com/getManufacturer?id=5

Separando por recursos teremos:

* https://minhaapi.com/cars/{id}
* https://minhaapi.com/customers/{id}?name=nullptr
* https://minhaapi.com/manufacturers/{id}

Still taking advantage of the hook for item 2, with the best use of resources we will have the following scenario:

* GET  https://minhaapi.com/getCars
* GET  https://minhaapi.com/getCar?id=2
* POST https://minhaapi.com/createCar
* POST https://minhaapi.com/updateCar
* POST https://minhaapi.com/deleteCar

Utilizando os verbos HTTP

* POST      https://minhaapi.com/cars
* GET       https://minhaapi.com/cars
* GET       https://minhaapi.com/cars/{id}
* PUT/PATCH https://minhaapi.com/cars/{id}
* DELETE    https://minhaapi.com/cars/{id}

And now applying HATEOAS in the return of resources, we would have the possibility to implement navigability to our content of Sponse:

* GET  https://minhaapi.com/cars/5

HTTP 200

{
    "car": {
        "id": "5"
        "model": "Fusca",
        "manufactor": "VW"
    },
    "links": {
        "_self": { "href": "https://minhaapi.com/cars/5" }
        "manufacturer": { "href": "https://minhaapi.com/manufactors/56" }
        "similar": { "href": "https://minhaapi.com/cars?related=fusca" }
    }
}

You can also include links to help with paging, when a listing endpoint query is paginated, an example can be seen in this call of the Juno API.