What would you call a non-RESTful API? I mean other than the different kinds of APIs that already do have a name (SOAP, GraphQL, etc.).
What would you call an API that you call with
11 Answer
Such a URL as included in the post cannot be called REST, as RESTful API uses only the verbs of GET, PUT, POST and DELETE. An interface that obeys these architectural constraints is called "RESTful". Otherwise, its correct name is just "not-RESTful".
Roy T. Fielding, whose thesis created REST, defined it for hypertext-driven applications, but in effect REST has later evolved into an architectural style, and not a specific protocol like SOAP or HTML.
Many authors call the opposite of REST by the name of Remote Procedure Call (RPC). This denotes schemes in which the client and server agree upon a protocol that typically needs to be compiled into both ends. For example, your above URL which is using a very specific format and accessed in a particular order.
For more information see:
REST APIs must be hypertext-drivenby Roy T. Fielding
