Let's Create an HTTP API

Requirement: Create an API for managing user information.

The most important thing is resource identification

Meaning of a Resource #

• Registering, modifying, or retrieving a user is not a resource.
  • Example: Mine minerals -> minerals are the resource
  • The concept of a user itself is the resource.
• How should we identify resources?
  • Exclude all actions like registering, modifying, or retrieving users.
  • We only need to identify the user resource -> Map the user resource to a URI

API URI Design #

URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) Resource identification, utilizing URI hierarchical structure

• Retrieve user list / members
• Retrieve user /members/{id} -> How to distinguish?
• Register user /members/{id} -> How to distinguish?
• Modify user /members/{id} -> How to distinguish?
• Delete user /members/{id} -> How to distinguish?
• Note: It is recommended to use plural nouns for collections at the top of the hierarchy (member >> members)

Separating Resources and Actions #

The most important thing is identifying the resource.

• URI identifies only the resource!
• Separate the resource from the action targeting that resource.
  • Resources are nouns, actions are verbs.
  • How do we distinguish actions (methods)?

This will be covered in the HTTP Methods section.