Lesson 20 (REST)

Lesson 20: REST

What is a web API and what is a RESTful API.
Why is REST a useful application design pattern.
What resources are and how the format of a resource differs in different contexts.

This is the last class of the program! Take the time to acknowledge all of the hard work the students have put in!
Check with your course manager for any additional announcements.

Review the characteristics of a web API. The book introduces the topic in contrast to an MVC application design. How are these programs similar? Where do they diverge?
REST is deceptively simple, but so important for the students to understand! The text uses a lot of new terms to describe the flow of data between a REST API and a client application. Student's won't get a chance to actually explore an API until today's studio. If you can, provide your own examples of how to make calls to an API.
Make sure to leave time to do a temperature check for the previous lesson. Did everyone finish the studio? Is everyone getting the concepts? Class 19 had a lot of material in it and students will need to complete the authentication studio to receive full credit for the course.

Make sure to get every student through the authentication studio! By the end of the class, everyone should have a fully-functioning web application with authentication!
If the authentication studio is complete, encourage students to walkthrough the REST studio. There is no completion requirement for today's studio. The idea is to guide students to write four requests to the CodingEvents API. They are meant to explore performing the CRUD operations using Postman.
While everyone should be learning and finishing up their work, there is no harm in a little fun! If you want to do something special for your group, check in with your Course Manager to make sure it is okay!