Which statement best describes a REST API?

Which statement best describes a REST API?

• A. A protocol for encrypting data over a network.
• B. A software development lifecycle model.
• C. Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface (REST API) enables two computers to communicate through HTTP.
• D. A standardized method for querying and updating relational databases.

Answer: (C)

A REST API is an interface that lets two systems talk to each other over HTTP by exposing a set of resources that can be manipulated with standard HTTP methods (like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). The “Representational State Transfer” idea means you transfer the resource’s state in a representation such as JSON or XML, with each request containing what the server needs in a stateless way. This is why the description “enables two computers to communicate through HTTP” fits best: it emphasizes the communication mechanism and the web-based interface. The other options miss the point: encryption protocols secure data in transit but aren’t about the API style; a lifecycle model is about development processes; and a relational database querying/updating method isn’t the API concept at all. For example, you might GET /books/123 to fetch a book or POST /books to create one, with responses typically in JSON.

A REST API is an interface that lets two systems talk to each other over HTTP by exposing a set of resources that can be manipulated with standard HTTP methods (like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). The “Representational State Transfer” idea means you transfer the resource’s state in a representation such as JSON or XML, with each request containing what the server needs in a stateless way. This is why the description “enables two computers to communicate through HTTP” fits best: it emphasizes the communication mechanism and the web-based interface. The other options miss the point: encryption protocols secure data in transit but aren’t about the API style; a lifecycle model is about development processes; and a relational database querying/updating method isn’t the API concept at all. For example, you might GET /books/123 to fetch a book or POST /books to create one, with responses typically in JSON.