HTTP Protocol

To better understand what REST is and make sure we are implementing the REST style, we can simply talk about the HTTP protocol. HTTP is an implementation of the REST architecture style. It is short for HyperText Transfer Protocol and is the standard protocol used on the worldwide web. We use it every day to browse different websites. That's why all the websites we visit are prefixed with http.

In the HTTP protocol, there are different types of service request methods. Each service request method has a special definition that is specific to it. When the frontend interface interacts with the backend API through a URL, they need to, at the same time, define the HTTP method for this request. Different HTTP methods are like different service counters. For example, reading and creating data are completely different services, so they should be handled by different service counters, meaning different HTTP methods.

• GET: For reading data
• POST: For creating data
• PUT: For updating data by completely replacing data with new content
• PATCH: For updating data, but by partially modifying a few attributes
• DELETE: For deleting data

Simply put, different HTTP methods are like the verbs for REST API. They are used for performing different actions on the same set of data.