REST APIs

Learn to design, build, and manage REST APIs using industry-standard tools and frameworks. This hands-on rest apis course focuses on real-world application, ensuring you gain the technical depth and practical skills needed to create scalable, secure, and efficient APIs. You’ll explore key REST concepts, implement core features such as caching and compression, and develop APIs that meet professional standards of performance and usability.

Prerequisites and foundations

Start by revisiting the essential web technologies that underpin REST APIs. Using your existing knowledge of Java, Python, or JavaScript, you’ll review fundamental concepts such as APIs, web services, HTTP communication, JSON formatting, and data serialisation. These building blocks provide a strong foundation for working confidently with RESTful systems.

Core rest theory

Develop a deep understanding of REST’s principles and design patterns. Learn how to structure resources, name endpoints effectively, and apply HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. You’ll also explore what differentiates a RESTful API from other architectures and understand the importance of statelessness, scalability, and clear documentation.

Building rest services

Gain practical experience creating REST services with popular frameworks including Spring Boot (Java), Flask (Python), or Express (JavaScript). You’ll design and implement APIs that support real-world workflows, handle data securely, and deliver consistent, predictable responses across different environments.

Building rest clients

Learn to develop REST clients that consume and interact with APIs effectively. You’ll use HttpClient (Java), Requests (Python), or Axios (JavaScript), along with tools like Postman for testing, validation, and debugging. This section helps you understand how client-side applications communicate with and integrate data from RESTful services.

Rest api configuration

Explore advanced API configuration techniques, including caching, compression, statelessness, and content negotiation. You’ll also cover essential practices for API versioning, documentation, and idempotence—ensuring your APIs are maintainable, efficient, and developer-friendly.

Advanced topics and security

Move beyond the basics to tackle advanced REST concepts. Apply the Richardson Maturity Model to assess your API design, learn to resolve the N+1 query problem, and implement authentication and authorisation mechanisms such as OAuth. You’ll also focus on improving API performance, scalability, and reliability in modern distributed systems.