Mastering REST APIs with Flask: A Comprehensive Guide

REST APIs (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interfaces) play a pivotal role in modern web development. They allow different software systems to interact, share data, and enable seamless communication. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the world of REST APIs, covering what they are, the various types of API requests, how to build one using Flask, and how to create interactive documentation using Swagger-UI.

What are REST APIs?

REST, or Representational State Transfer, is an architectural style that serves as the foundation for designing networked applications. RESTful APIs provide a standardized way to interact with web services. They utilize HTTP methods to perform operations on resources, which are uniquely identified by URLs. Let's break down some key principles:

• Resources: In the context of REST, everything is considered a resource. These resources are represented as URLs, making them easily accessible via HTTP requests.
• HTTP Methods: RESTful APIs rely on HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE to perform actions on resources. These methods determine the type of operation to be executed.
• Statelessness: Each request made to a RESTful API should be self-contained, meaning it should contain all the information needed to process the request. The server does not store any client state between requests.