REST stands for Representational State Transfer. It’s a simple architecture style for designing web services that communicate over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Roy Fielding first presented REST in 2000 as a way for communicating between distributed systems.

REST works on the client-server model, which defines a clear separation of duties of each element of the communication system. The client is responsible for request generation and UI while the server takes care of security, data access, and workload.

Since REST uses HTTP exclusively for data transfer, the overall process is simple and consistent. It has 4 methods that you can use to pass information i.e. GET, PUT, POST, and DELETE. Using hierarchical structuring, REST web development accesses resources by using their names and URLs. It can also access related resources if required.

Want to hire REST API developers?

You need to transfer all information through REST every time you need to access the server for information. This property is called statelessness. Even though it means more work for the client (as every request has to carry extra information), it has its advantages.

You can easily scale RESTful API/web services as the server doesn’t need to store any data while handling requests. This means it can handle many requests at the same time. In addition, a stateless server is easy to cache and makes the overall transfer process less complex.

REST in today’s market

Many major companies such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Google use REST for their APIs. Engineers even prefer it over GraphQL, even though GraphQL is faster and more efficient. However, REST is more widely adopted, and the frameworks based on REST are now mature, which means that you can easily implement REST in your products.

Applications that use REST share the information quickly and efficiently. That’s because REST uses XML and JSON as a data exchange format to transfer files between the server and client. You can also use other data formats for transferring files, such as binary.

Issues companies face while hiring a REST engineer

A company may face various challenges while hiring a REST engineer. For example, even though the engineer may know basic application/API development, they may not have experience in creating industry-level applications and use cases. It’s difficult to handle HTTP methods and client-side requests without sufficient training.

Sometimes engineers don’t know how to deal with the challenges of the REST. Using REST requires expertise and knowledge. Issues like ineffective state management or failure to version API can lead to huge issues in the final product. Therefore, only experienced engineers should work on REST connectivity for applications.

How to choose the best REST engineer?

Hiring a perfect REST engineer may seem difficult, but it can be easier if you know what to look for. A good REST engineer should know how to create RESTful APIs and web services without sacrificing system security and efficiency.

You can check the API developer‘s knowledge of REST/FIX infrastructures. They should have a good knowledge of microservices and middle-tier support. REST engineers also need to work on XML and JSON data transfer, so you can check the candidate’s expertise on those.

They should be knowledgeable about languages such as Jquery, JavaScript, and Ajax, along with frameworks such as Node JS and Angular. Candidates with experience in deployment tools such as Maven and Jenkins are preferred.

API Interview Questions

What features should you check while performing REST API testing?

You need to check for information access and authorization issues while testing APIs. You can also check for HTTP method status for transferring data. Timeout times should be noted for methods if they are unable to deliver data. Any incorrect code has to be logged in and worked upon.

What are the tools you can use to test REST APIs?

You can test REST API through tools such as JMeter, Postman, Katalon Studio, and Paw.

What should you use REST over SOAP?

For the last few years, engineers have preferred REST over SOAP for data transfer. With REST, you directly interact with the URL which has the resources you need to access. With SOAP, you need to first access a service, which, in turn, will go to the URL and access the appropriate resource.

What is Addressing?

Addressing is the process of locating resources on the server. This is done by checking the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for that particular resource.

To create a good URI, you need to use plural nouns, avoid spaces and use lowercase letters. You also need to maintain backward compatibility to redirect older URIs to new addresses.

What precaution should you take while creating a REST web/service or API?

You need to take care of session actions from the client side, as REST doesn’t create sessions on the server. You also need to implement security measures and protocols such as SSL and TLS to ensure authentication.

Job Description

We are looking to hire a REST developer to join our team. They should be team players who are passionate about the analysis, development, implementation, and maintenance of RESTful web services and API.

It’s an excellent opportunity for hard-working and focused engineers who want to create excellent products and hone their skills

Responsibilities

• Build and test web services and API created through REST
• Lead API development lifecycle and take responsibility for code quality
• Research and perform complex tasks and work on services
• Identify and communicate ideas for project improvement
• Work on middleware applications
• Coordinate with product managers and stakeholders to understand business requirements.
• Participate in integration meetings
• Follow best industry practices and standards
• {{Add other relevant responsibilities}}

API Developer Skills and Qualifications

• Working knowledge of REST API/service development.
• Experience in creating client and server-side code without compromising security and efficiency
• Proven experience in creating large-scale, n-tier, distributed systems
• Experience with request handling and HTTP
• Knowledge of JSON and XML.
• Knowledge of OOPS principles and design patterns
• {{Add other frameworks or libraries related to your development stack}}
• {{List education level or certification required}}

Conclusion

REST is one of the best communication architectures available in the market. It can transfer data efficiently and is highly scalable. It’s also layered and language-independent, making it one of the most reliable architectures for creating web services.