RefCard RESTful API Design

As soon as we start working on an API, design issues arise. A robust and strong design is a key factor for API success. A poorly designed API will indeed lead to misuse or – even worse – no use at all by its intended clients: application developers. To facilitate and accelerate the design and development of your APIs, we share our vision and beliefs with you in this Reference Card. They come from our direct experience on API projects.

Designing a REST API raises questions and issues for which there is no universal answer. REST best practices are still being debated and consolidated, which is what makes this job fascinating. “Purists” insist upon following REST principles without compromise. “Pragmatics” prefer a more practical approach, to provide their clients with a more usable API. The proper solution often lies in between.