Designing a RESTful API involves defining clear and consistent resource names, actions, and associations to ensure clients' ease of use and understanding.
Resource Names, Actions, & Associations
Several best practices regarding resource names, actions, and associations must be followed to design an effective RESTful API.
Resource Naming Practices:
Use nouns to represent resources (e.g.,
/books,/authors).Prefer plural nouns for resource collections (e.g.,
/booksinstead of/book).Use lowercase letters and separate words with hyphens for readability (e.g.,
/book-reviews).
Actions as HTTP Methods:
Use GET to retrieve resources.
Use POST to create new resources.
Use PUT to update existing resources.
Use DELETE to remove resources.
Associations:
Represent hierarchical relationships with nested resources (e.g.,
/authors/{authorId}/books).For many-to-many relationships, use linking tables (e.g.,
/books/{bookId}/reviews).
Adhering to these practices ensures your API is intuitive, consistent, and easy to maintain.
