Question 1

What is the basic structure of a REST API request?

Accepted Answer

A REST API request consists of an HTTP method (GET/POST/PUT/DELETE), endpoint URL, headers for metadata, and sometimes a request body containing data in JSON format.

Question 2

How do REST APIs handle authentication?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs typically use token-based authentication (JWT/OAuth), API keys, or session-based authentication to verify user identity and authorize access to protected resources.

Question 3

What status codes should REST APIs return?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs should return appropriate HTTP status codes - 200s for success, 400s for client errors, 500s for server errors - to indicate the outcome of requests.

Question 4

Why are REST APIs considered stateless?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs are stateless because each request contains all information needed for processing, without relying on server-stored session data, improving scalability and reliability.

Question 5

Can REST APIs support real-time communication?

Accepted Answer

While REST APIs aren't designed for real-time communication, they can implement polling or be complemented with WebSockets for applications requiring immediate data updates.

Question 6

What's the difference between PUT and PATCH methods?

Accepted Answer

PUT completely replaces a resource with new data, while PATCH applies partial modifications to existing resources, making PATCH more efficient for small updates.

Question 7

How can REST APIs be versioned effectively?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs can be versioned through URL paths (/v1/resources), custom headers (API-Version), query parameters (?version=1), or content negotiation to maintain compatibility.

Question 8

Are REST APIs secure for financial transactions?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs can be secure for financial transactions when implementing HTTPS, proper authentication, authorization, input validation, and following security best practices.

Question 9

What tools are recommended for testing REST APIs?

Accepted Answer

Popular REST API testing tools include Postman, Swagger, cURL, REST Assured for Java, and automated testing frameworks that validate endpoints and responses.

Question 10

How do REST APIs handle pagination for large datasets?

Accepted Answer

REST APIs handle pagination using query parameters (limit/offset or page/size), returning partial results with metadata indicating total count and links to next/previous pages.

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