Glossary

Application Programming Interface.

Data element associated with endpoint.

Token-based authentication method used to secure endpoints.

Data that is sent in the body of the HTTP request to create or alter data.

An application or device that processes a response from a server after sending a request to API.

A unique identifier assigned to a client application in authentication and authorization systems, often used in protocols like OAuth.

Format of the data transmitted between the client and server. Click Data Types to view the data types used in the Swagger UI and the API Guide.

A resource or object.

A practice used to prevent misinterpretation given a specific context by assigning a set of characters to represent a special character.

Attribute within an object on a database table.

Metadata in the form of key-value pairs that provide information about a request or response. It will typically consist of the request or response URL and authorization information.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure transmits encrypted data over the internet using SSL/TLS.

Ensures that the method does not alter the state of the resource on the server.

Process of exchanging information between two systems that are independent of each other via an API.

 Acronym for JSON Web Token- authorizes secure data transmission between the client and host server when a client provides this in the authorization header of a request. Token format: JWT self-containing (header, payload, signature). Click https://jwt.io/introduction for more information.

An acronym for Javascript Object Notation. It is a markup language used to store and exchange information between computers. Go to JSON Data Interchange Format for more information.

 Encrypted key used for securing and authorizing communication between systems.

HTTP verb used to indicate an action that should be performed on a resource.

 A field embedded within another property. For example, if you have an "address" property within a "User object," Address is the nested property.

An object enclosed within another object or property.

A property enclosed within another object or property. 

 Resource or entity.

Specified data sent from a request or received from a response. It does not include additional information, such as a header or metadata. 

Regulates how data stored in a field can be seen or changed. 

 A key/value pair appended to a URL in web requests used in APIs to customize responses, filter data, or specify parameters for server operations.

An action to interact with a resource initiated by the client system.

Data sent from a server to a client system given the request provided by the client system.

 Representational State Transfer - also known as REST API - a web service API that adheres to the REST API architectural design principles. However, it is not a protocol, so while there are commonly followed design principles, there is a place for flexibility; thus, unlike SOAP, which only uses the XML data format, RESTful APIs can use multiple formats to exchange data.

Format, data type, and constraints of a data type value.

Software that hosts resources.

Numeric code within an HTTP response that represents the outcome of a client request to a server. Indicates whether or not the request encountered an error or was successfully sent to the server.

OpenAPI Specification (OAS), is an open-source framework that can design, document, and consume RESTful APIs. Swagger generates interactive and user-friendly documentation for APIs based on the information provided in the OpenAPI Specification. This documentation includes details about endpoints, request and response formats, authentication methods, and more.

Uniform resource identifiers. A unique address allows a resource to be identified on a network.

A type of URI used to fetch or access a resource in a network.