Noun-based resource naming in Rest API - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Noun-based Resource Naming in REST API

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple REST API for a bookstore. The API should use noun-based resource names to represent collections and individual items.

🎯 Goal: Create a REST API endpoint structure using noun-based resource naming conventions for books and authors.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a list called books with three book titles as strings

Create a variable called resource_name and set it to the string "books"

Use a for loop with variable book to iterate over books and create a list called book_resources with URLs in the format "/books/{book_id}" where book_id is the index starting from 1

Print each URL in book_resources on a new line

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

REST APIs use noun-based resource names to clearly represent collections and individual items, making URLs easy to understand and consistent.

💼 Career

Understanding noun-based resource naming is essential for backend developers and API designers to create clean, maintainable, and user-friendly APIs.

1

Create the books list

Create a list called books with these exact strings: "The Hobbit", "1984", and "Pride and Prejudice".

Rest API

# Create the list of books
# Your code here

Hint

Use square brackets [] to create a list and separate items with commas.

2

Set the resource name

Create a variable called resource_name and set it to the string "books".

Rest API

books = ["The Hobbit", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice"]
# Create the resource_name variable
# Your code here

Hint

Use an equals sign = to assign the string "books" to the variable resource_name.

3

Create URLs for each book resource

Use a for loop with variable book and enumerate over books starting at 1 to create a list called book_resources. Each item should be a string in the format "/books/{book_id}" where book_id is the index number.

Rest API

books = ["The Hobbit", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice"]
resource_name = "books"
# Create book_resources list with URLs
# Your code here

Hint

Use a list comprehension with enumerate(books, 1) to get index starting at 1 and format strings with f-strings.

4

Print the book resource URLs

Use a for loop with variable url to iterate over book_resources and print each URL on a new line.

Rest API

books = ["The Hobbit", "1984", "Pride and Prejudice"]
resource_name = "books"
book_resources = [f"/{resource_name}/{book_id}" for book_id, book in enumerate(books, 1)]
# Print each URL in book_resources
# Your code here

Hint

Use a for loop to print each URL string on its own line.

Practice

1. Which of the following is the best example of a noun-based resource name for a REST API endpoint that manages multiple books?

easy

A. /fetchBooks

B. /getBooks

C. /bookAction

D. /books

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand noun-based resource naming

   Noun-based naming uses plural nouns to represent collections of resources, making the API intuitive.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct plural noun path

   Among the options, only '/books' is a plural noun representing the resource collection without verbs or actions.

3. Final Answer:

   /books -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Noun-based resource = /books [OK]

Hint: Use plural nouns without verbs for resource paths [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including verbs like 'get' or 'fetch' in the URL
• Using singular nouns for collections
• Adding action words in resource names

2. Which of the following is the correct REST API endpoint syntax for accessing a single user resource by ID?

easy

A. /users/get/123

B. /user?id=123

C. /users/123

D. /getUser/123

Solution

1. Step 1: Review REST API syntax for single resource

   Single resources are accessed by appending the resource ID to the plural noun path.

2. Step 2: Identify the correct syntax

   Option '/users/123' correctly uses the plural noun 'users' followed by the ID without verbs or query parameters.

3. Final Answer:

   /users/123 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Single resource path = /users/123 [OK]

Hint: Use /resourceName/{id} for single resource access [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding verbs like 'get' in the path
• Using query parameters instead of path variables
• Using singular noun without ID

3. Given the REST API endpoint GET /orders/456, what does this request represent?

medium

A. Retrieve the order with ID 456

B. Create a new order with ID 456

C. Delete the order with ID 456

D. Update the order with ID 456

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand HTTP GET method

   GET is used to retrieve or read data from the server without modifying it.

2. Step 2: Interpret the endpoint path

   The path '/orders/456' points to a single order resource with ID 456.

3. Final Answer:

   Retrieve the order with ID 456 -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   GET /orders/456 = Retrieve order 456 [OK]

Hint: GET + /resource/{id} means fetch that resource [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing GET with POST or DELETE actions
• Assuming the request modifies data
• Misreading the resource ID

4. Identify the error in this REST API endpoint for deleting a user: DELETE /deleteUser/789

medium

A. Missing query parameter for user ID

B. Using a verb 'deleteUser' in the resource path

C. Using DELETE method instead of GET

D. Using plural noun instead of singular

Solution

1. Step 1: Check resource naming conventions

   Resource paths should be nouns, not verbs or actions.

2. Step 2: Analyze the given endpoint

   The path '/deleteUser/789' incorrectly includes the verb 'deleteUser' instead of just '/users/789'.

3. Final Answer:

   Using a verb 'deleteUser' in the resource path -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Resource path must be noun, not verb [OK]

Hint: Avoid verbs in paths; use HTTP methods for actions [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Including action verbs in URL paths
• Confusing HTTP method with URL naming
• Using query parameters unnecessarily

5. You want to design a REST API for managing comments on blog posts. Which of the following is the best noun-based resource path to list all comments for a post with ID 42?

hard

A. /posts/42/comments

B. /getCommentsForPost/42

C. /comments?postId=42

D. /postComments/42

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand nested resource naming

   Comments belong to posts, so nesting comments under posts is clear and RESTful.

2. Step 2: Evaluate the options

   Option '/posts/42/comments' uses plural nouns and shows the relationship clearly without verbs or query parameters.

3. Final Answer:

   /posts/42/comments -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Nested plural nouns show resource hierarchy [OK]

Hint: Use nested plural nouns for related resources [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using verbs in paths like 'getCommentsForPost'
• Using query parameters instead of nested paths
• Using singular nouns inconsistently