REST API
An architectural style for HTTP APIs based on resources, standard verbs, and stateless responses; the most common model for modern integrations.
REST (Representational State Transfer) is the architectural style proposed by Roy Fielding in 2000 that structures HTTP APIs around resources identified by URLs and manipulated with standard verbs (`GET`, `POST`, `PUT`, `DELETE`, `PATCH`). Key principles: - **Stateless**: each request carries all needed information; the server keeps no context between calls. - **Client-server**: clear separation of concerns. - **Cacheable**: responses can be marked cacheable via headers. - **Uniform interface**: predictable URLs, standard HTTP status codes (`200`, `400`, `401`, `404`, `429`, `500`). A modern alternative is GraphQL — more flexible but with a steeper learning curve. For identifier validation, REST wins on simplicity: a `POST` with a small JSON returns a small JSON. Normadata follows REST strictly. The base is `https://api.normadata.io/v1/`. Each endpoint maps to a validation domain (`verify`, `verify/tax-id`, `verify/bank`, etc.). Requests use `POST` with a JSON body; responses follow the standard JSON envelope. Authentication via `X-API-Key` header. Errors use conventional HTTP codes and a JSON body with readable `code` and `message`.