Devii · APIs & integration · 2026-01-25 · 7 min read
REST As An Architectural Style (Not “JSON Over HTTP” By Default)
Roy Fielding’s dissertation defined REST; most “REST APIs” are actually HTTP/JSON RPC-style-know the difference.
In his 2000 doctoral dissertation, Roy Fielding defined **REST** (Representational State Transfer) as an architectural style for network-based software, with constraints including client-server separation, statelessness, a uniform interface, layered systems, and (optionally) code-on-demand. **Hypermedia as the engine of application state (HATEOAS)** is part of that uniform-interface discussion.
Many production “REST” APIs are **resource-oriented HTTP** with JSON bodies and fixed URL patterns, without full hypermedia discovery. That can be fine if documented (for example with **OpenAPI**). The point is naming: “RESTful” in job posts rarely means a literal reading of Fielding’s constraints.
Use clear HTTP methods and status codes, publish an API description your clients can generate from, and version or evolve carefully. This article cites Fielding’s published work, not a specific framework release.