Glossary of Terms ¶

API
Application Programming Interfaces enable software to interact with other software through exposed functionality.

Authentication
Identifying the user of the API. Common techniques for authentication include API Keys and OAuth.

End-point
The URI that goes after the base URL and points towards the requested API functionality.

Expires
A header that tells the client it may cache a response until a certain time.

GET
The HTTP method for retrieving resources from a RESTful API.

Header
A header is what’s sent before the body of an HTTP request or response.

HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol is how websites and APIs communicate over the internet.

HTTP Method
The part of an HTTP request that tells the server what the client wants to do.

JSON
Javascript Object Notation is a data format commonly used for APIs requests parameters and response body.

Last-Modified
Header which tells client the last time representation changed. Important for conditional If-Modified-Since requests.

OAuth
Open standard authorization framework. Grants access on behalf of an end-user without directly sharing credentials.

Parameter
A parameter is an argument sent to the API which helps define the request and expected response.

POST
The HTTP method for creating resources with a RESTful API.

Representation
Data that describes the state of a resource. Often the body of an HTTP request/response.

Resource
A resource is some object or entitity that has a URI where it can be manuiplulated through HTTP requests.

REST
Representational state transfer is an architectural pattern for interacting with resources via HTTP methods.

Request
An API Request is what’s being sent to the API’s base url and endpoint including headers and parameters.

Response
The Response is what the API sends back after a request, including the headers and body.

Server
The server is software or hardware that provides a service by responding to requests across a network.

SSL
A cryptographic protocol that secures traffic on the internet.

Status Code
HTTP status codes are what the server sends back to the client with the response in regards to the status of the request.

URI
Unique Resource Identifier