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An API is a set of rules that determine how apps or devices communicate and connect with each other. Since APIs help developers communicate with the data, they become more comfortable and easier for developers. REST APIs (an application programming interface) must be well-designed; else, they can create many difficulties for developers rather than enhancing the user experience. This is why REST API best practices must be followed when it comes to catering to your clients with the most efficiency.

Here are some methods to follow while designing and developing REST APIs:

• Clear and Concise Documentation

You must have complete and clear documentation. Oftentimes, documentation is produced automatically depending on the API definition. Otherwise, you will have to ensure that the documentation can be understood easily by people with less or no experience.

• Utilizing JSON as a Data Format

JSON is the most commonly utilized data format, although you can send data in other formats like CSV, XML, and HTML. JSON syntax can make data easy to read for humans. It is easy to use and offers quick and easy data assessment and execution. Moreover, it contains an extensive array of supported browser compatibility.

• API Versioning

This practice enables developers to make changes in particular actions or the data structure. You may deal with more than one API version if your project increases with time and in size. But the benefit is that this enables developers to create more enhancements and changes in their service alongside holding a part of API users that are slow in accepting new changes or not ready to change.

• Error Management

Errors should be smartly managed to reduce confusion for every API user. This returns the HTTP response codes that explain the nature of the mistake that occurred. The API maintainers get ample data from it to assess the source and reason behind the issue.

Here are some basic error HTTP status codes:

404 Not Found – This means that there are no resources.
403 Forbidden – This implies that an improper user has no permission to use a resource even if he/she gets verified.
401 Unauthorized – This means that the user is not authorized to employ a resource. Generally, it goes back if a user does not get verified.
400 Bad Requests – This implies that the client-side input has been unsuccessful in documentation or validation.
503 Service Unavailable – This marks that something unnecessary and unexpected action occurred on the server-side; for example, system failure, part failure, server overload, etc.
502 Bad Gateway – This denotes a null or invalid response from a crucial server.
500 Internal Server Error – It’s a basic server error.

• Enhancing API Security

Using present security frameworks like TLS and SSL is another great practice for creating APIs. SSL certificates can create a secure connection by offering a private and public key. Without this encrypted connection, you cannot get an assurance that you are safeguarding sensitive data like financial or medical info properly. TLS is SSL’s most modern version that provides improved security and protection. Regular testing is one of the essential API security best practices.

• Allowing Data Filtering, Sorting, Field Selection, and Paging

Retrieving just the data that was asked for without showcasing the whole database is one of the most challenging aspects for making sure a secure connection with API. You must use a filter for doing this so it can just return the data that meets the request.

REST API provides a variety of filtering options:

Filtering – This helps check results using particular search parameters like country, creation data, etc.
Sorting – This enables you to sort out the results in ascending or descending format using your chosen parameter like dates.
Field Selection – This feasible REST API development function enables developers to ask for just a particular of the accessible data for a specific object.
Paging – Use ‘limit’ for checking the results in a particular number. Moreover, it uses ‘offset’ for informing which section of the whole results is showcased.

• Optimizing for Human Readers

APIs must be easy to understand and use. Apart from using JSON, you can use some other things to make APIs easy to use and understand:

Utilize clear and easy naming systems with no abbreviation.
Utilize nouns rather than verbs in HTTP methods.
Have easy-to-understood and simple descriptions for error management, along with standardized error codes.
Utilize plural nouns for collections according to the accepted norms.

• Keeping Resource Nesting Limited

Resource nesting helps pair two functions that share a similar hierarchy or are associated with each other. If you consider an online store as an example, ‘orders’ and ‘users’ are resources under a similar category.
Nesting is an effective practice for the relevant pairing of resources. However, many developers overuse it, which reduces its appeal.

• Exploiting Safe Methods

A few safe tactics are HTTP methods that restore the precise resource representation. HEAD, GET, OPTIONS, and TRACE strategies are considered safe. This implies that they can usually retrieve data without modifying a resource’s condition on the server. Furthermore, avoid using GET for erasing content.

• Caching Data in Frontend

Use caching, rather than asking for data several times. The benefit of caching is that users can receive data more quickly. However, the users may get outdated data also. Moreover, this may cause issues while fixing in production environments if something wrong occurs as we see outdated data constantly.

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You can read more about REST API Development here.

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