Get Plenty of REST: REST API Tutorials

RESTful APIs are one of the most useful tools a developer an learn to use. Check out these tutorials that walk you through the entire process of using REST APIs. In this post, we'll cover what REST APIs are, how to build them, using REST APIs in your applicaitons, and testing and securing your REST APIs.

Now, let's get to those REST API tutorials!

Introduction to REST and REST APIs

• The Difference Between REST and SOAP APIs by Nyma Malik. This quick overview will help you understand the differences between REST and SOAP APIs, and how they are used with other services, databases, and more.
• REST API: Path vs Request Body Parameters by Anant Mishra. A developer delves into the differences between path and request body parameters and how to implement them when using REST APIs in your applicaiton.
• An Introduction to RESTful APIs by Saquib Rizwan. What is REST? What is meant by RESTful? What is a RESTful API? What are some real-world REST API examples? Learn the answers to these questions and more.
• REST API: Your Guide to Getting Started Quickly by Eric Goebelbecker. This article looks at REST APIs and also explores the setup, an introduction to SWAGGER and REST, CRUD, and also gives a tutorial on how to create a REST API.
• Foundations of RESTful Archiecture Refcard by Brian Sletten Chase Doelling. The Representational State Transfer (REST) architectural style is a worldview that elevates information into a first-class element of architectures. REST allows us to achieve the architectural properties of performance, scalability, generality, simplicity, modifiability, and extensibility. This newly updated Refcard explains main HTTP verbs, describes response codes, and lists libraries and frameworks. It also gives additional resources to further explore each topic.

REST API Tutorials: Building REST APIs

1. How to Create a REST API With Spring Boot by Prathap Givantha Kalansuriya. This article takes a look at a tutorial that explains how to create REST API with Spring Boot, JPA, Hibernate, and MySQL.
2. How to Develop a RESTful Web Service in ASP.NET Web API by Anhijit Pritam Dutta. This article takes a look at a tutorial that gives an explanation on how to develop a RESTful we service in ASP .NET with a web API. Also view the code.
3. Creating a REST API Part 1: Web Server Basics by Dan McGhan. A developer walks us through the process of creating a REST API project using Node.js and the Express npm package to create the web server we'll use as well.
4. Creating a REST API Part 2: Database Basics by Dan McGhan. Learn about starting up the connection pool, shutting down the connection pool, and simplifying CRUD operations when creating a REST API.
5. Creating a REST API Part 3: Handling GET Requests by Dan McGhan. A developer gives a tutorial on how to work with Node.js to create a GET request on the backend of a web application that can call data from a REST API.
6. Creating a REST API Part 4: Handling POST, PUT, and DELETE Requests by Dan McGhan. We finish building out the basic CRUD functionality of the API by adding logic to handle POST, PUT, and DELETE requests on the employees endpoint.
7. Creating a REST API Part 5: Manual Pagination, Sorting, and Filtering by Dan McGhan. This article takes a look at creating a REST API and explores how to make it more flexible by adding manual pagination, sorting, and filtering capabilities.
8. Build a REST Web Service Using Spring by Hussein Terek. This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide for building and configuring a REST web service in Java from a Maven web project using the Spring framework.
9. REST API Error Handling — Problem Details Response by Guy Levin. This article takes a look at REST API error handling and the problem details response. Also explore the background of different error codes.
10. Leverage HTTP Status Codes to Build a REST Service by Stéphane Bouclier. In this article, you will learn how to easily build a web service with appropriate HTTP responses. You will follow each step through a sample REST API service.
    

REST API Tutorials: Using REST APIs

1. Spring Boot 2 RESTful API Documentation With Swagger 2 Tutorial by Ramesh Fadatare. In this article, we will create Spring Boot 2 JPA CRUD RESTFul application and MySQL as a database and then we will integrate Swagger 2 for REST APIs documentation.
2. Spring Boot RESTful API Documentation With Swagger 2 by John Thompson. Used in Spring Boot, Swagger 2 renders documentation. The Spring Boot RESTful app manages products. Configuring Swagger 2 in your app has a lot of benefits.
3. Step-by-Step Spring Boot RESTful Web Service Complete Example by Abhijit Pritam Dutta. This article takes an in-depth look at a tutorial that gives an explanation for all of the REST calls, which are GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. Also see the code.
4. How to Parse JSON Data From a REST API Using a Simple JSON Library by Soumyajit Basu. This tutorial shows you how to use JAVA to leverage JSON data categorically from a REST API, and parse a URL object as a JSON object using SimpleJSON.
5. A Few Great Ways to Consume RESTful APIs in C# by Vladimir Pecanac. A developer looks at several methods, classes, and libraries in the C# language that web developers can use to help work with/integrate APIs into their apps.
6. How to Use Spring RESTTemplate to Post Data to a Web Service by Johnathan Mark Smith. Using Spring RESTTemplate to post objects to RESTful web services with Spring’s Java Configuration (JavaConfig) style with Maven, JUnit, and Log4J.
7. Easy REST APIs With AutoRest by Jirapongse Phuriphanvichai. In this article, we look at the open source tool, AutoRest and explore an example use case using the Elektron data platform.
8. Spring Boot RESTful Web Service Example by Abhijit Pritam Dutta. A developer walks us through how to create a RESTful web service using the Spring Boot framework for Java, and then how to test this on our local server.
9. Exception Handling in Spring REST Web Service by Roshan Thomas. Demonstration of various ways to handle and express an exception in a Spring REST service, from built-in codes and classes to custom handling methods.
10. Implementing Validation for RESTful Services With Spring Boot by Ranga Karanam. A tutorial on how to use the popular Java framework, Spring Boot, to implement validation into your RESTful API services, allowing for easier integration.

Putting REST to the Test

1. How to Test a REST API With JUnit by Mark Paluch. Shift your testing left with this tutorial that makes use of RESTEasy's minimal web server to allow users to quickly and easily test the API using JUnit.
2. Mocking REST API With WireMock - Recording and Manual Modes by Rajiv Srivastava. This article includes a tutorial that explains how to cover installation and usage of WireMock for using open source WireMock. Also look at the scope of it.
3. Performing Integration Tests on REST Services by Aritra Nag. This article explores performing integration tests on REST services using mock server and expectations for Spring Boot applications.
4. How to Use an npm REST API to Get npm Audit Results by Gorav Singal. This article takes a look at how to use an npm REST API to get npm audit results. Also look into how npm audit works internally.
5. REST Endpoint Testing With MockMvc by Brian Hannaway. In this post, a developer shows us how to test a Spring REST endpoint without a servlet container.
6. How to Mock REST APIs With SOAP UI by Dilini Rajapaksha. This tutorial shows how to mock a REST API using SOAP UI, with screenshots included, for testing and developing your front end if the back end isn't available.
7. WireMock: Mock Your REST APIs by Siva Prasad Rao Janapati. Check out WireMock, and learn about developing and identifying REST APIs to show response and request information.
8. How to Test REST APIs With Windows Authentication With JMeter by Artyom Avetisyan. An integration engineer discusses how to perform testing on a REST API that has authentication protocols in place using the open source JMeter testing tool.
9. REST Contract Testing — Pact Gen by Filip Lazarski. Learn more about Pact Gen and see an analysis of mapping from a sample Feign client taken from a Judge-d agent to a Pact file.
10. Testing REST API File Uploads in JMeter by Dmitri Tikhanski. Learn how to create a multipart POST or PUT request from scratch, and see a demo to create and update a file in Google Drive using both POST and PUT requests from JMeter.

REST API Tutorials: Securing REST APIs

1. RESTful API Authentication Basics by Guy Levin. We could all use a refresher on API authentication basics. In this post, Guy Levin provides just that, including how to achieve authentication.
2. Securing REST APIs With Client Certificates by Pavel Sklenar. Let's set up client certificates as part of mutual authentication for your APIs with a helping hand from Spring Security.
3. RESTful API Security by John Vester. John Vester, an information technology professional, discusses why API security is so important, and explores several essential security adoption measures.
4. Top 7 REST API Security Threats by Guy Levin. Look at the top 7 REST API security threats in today’s IT world in order to become aware of security threats.
5. Secure Existing RESTful Services — No Need to Change Code by Yuexiang Zhang. Learn how to use NGINX with third-party modules to protect existing RESTful services and eliminate the need to modify code.