Demystifying REST APIs: From HTTP History to Modern Integration
Date:
In this guest lecture for third-year engineering students at Halmstad University, I guide students through the evolution of web communication—from the roots of the HTTP protocol and the rise and fall of SOAP/XML, to the widespread adoption of REST.
We dive deep into the principles of RESTful API design, exploring how APIs communicate over the web, and why REST became the dominant standard. I cover essential topics such as authentication and authorization, HTTP verbs, resource modeling, and status codes.
The session also includes live demonstrations with Swagger/OpenAPI and Postman, showcasing how developers interact with and document modern APIs. We finish with a discussion on GraphQL, comparing it to REST and highlighting use cases where it may be a better fit.
A practical, engaging introduction to one of the most foundational concepts in modern software architecture.