APIendepunkter

APIendepunkter are the network locations where an application programming interface (API) exposes its functionality to clients. They define the points of interaction and typically correspond to particular data types or actions, such as retrieving, creating, updating, or deleting resources. Each endpoint is accessed via a URL and an HTTP method in many API styles.

In RESTful APIs, endpoints are usually URIs that represent resources, with HTTP methods indicating the operation. For example, GET /users fetches users, POST /users creates a user. Versioning is commonly implemented by including a version segment in the path, such as /api/v1/..., or by using headers. Other styles exist, such as RPC-style endpoints or GraphQL, which uses a single endpoint and accepts verbose queries.

Design and governance considerations include consistency, discoverability, and documentation. OpenAPI and Swagger are common standards to describe endpoints and their expected inputs and outputs. Security is essential, employing authentication (API keys, OAuth 2.0) and authorization, as well as transport security via TLS. Performance practices include rate limiting, caching, and ensuring idempotent operations where appropriate.

Lifecycle management for endpoints covers versioning, deprecation, and backward compatibility. Monitoring and testing are important to detect outages and errors, and well-structured error responses help clients handle failures robustly. Clear contracts and stable interfaces are key to a reliable API ecosystem.

In practice, APIendepunkter are a fundamental concept in API design, enabling modular, scalable access to services while allowing developers to understand and integrate with an API efficiently.