A REST API (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface) is an architectural style for designing networked applications. It is commonly used in web development to build scalable and interoperable systems.
Reference:
For a walkthrough of a REST API using cURL request, refer to the following recipe:
🦉Submitting Payment Request on your WebsiteOpen Recipe
Here are some key components of a REST API:
- Resources: Resources are the fundamental entities that are exposed by the API. They represent the data or services that can be accessed or manipulated. In the PayU India API Reference docs, you will find information about the specific resources provided by PayU India.
- Endpoints: Endpoints are the URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) through which clients can access the resources. Each endpoint corresponds to a specific resource or a collection of resources. The PayU India API Reference docs will provide you with the endpoints for accessing different functionalities.
- HTTP Methods: REST APIs use standard HTTP methods to perform operations on resources. The most commonly used methods are:
- GET: Retrieves the representation of a resource.
- POST: Creates a new resource.
- PUT: Updates an existing resource.
- DELETE: Deletes a resource.
- Request and Response: Requests are made by clients to interact with the API, and responses are sent back by the server. The requests and responses typically use JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) or XML (eXtensible Markup Language) formats to represent data.
- Authentication and Authorization: APIs often require authentication to ensure that only authorized users can access certain resources or perform specific actions. The PayU India API Reference docs should provide information on how to authenticate your requests.
- Error Handling: APIs should have proper error handling mechanisms in place to handle invalid requests or unexpected situations. Error responses typically include status codes and error messages that provide information about what went wrong.