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It is simply impossible to adequately describe REST in this document. In short, REST is an architectural style, or approach, of communications between different computer systems. While the theory of REST lends itself to any computing system, it was given birth and lives primarily in the web.
REST is arguably a formalized explanation of the way the internet (via HTTP) is meant to be used. REST offers a set of constraints that guide how the communications are to be properly handled. These constraints aim to build systems to achieve greater visibility, reliability, and scalability. A full implementation of the REST architecture extends beyond APIs, but APIs are where REST principles are most actively used. Two of the most notable features of RESTful web APIs are:
There is an expectation that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the concepts that REST encompasses. There are many good online resources but there are just as many that fail to explore the full benefits of REST. In these cases, the resources favor a practical approach toward REST assuming that implementing a fully RESTful paradigm might be too difficult and therefore becomes a barrier for implementation. The Richardson Maturity Model is a nice article that helps explain REST in an easy to read format and offers a stepping-stone approach toward full REST implementation.
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