Can you describe the main rules and principles that guide REST architecture when creating APIs?

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style for creating APIs based on the following core principles:

• Client-Server Architecture: clients and servers are separated, allowing independent development.

• Statelessness: each request from a client to a server must contain all the information needed to understand and process the request; the server does not store client state between requests.

• Caching: responses should explicitly indicate whether they can be cached to improve performance.

• Uniform Interface: use of standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) and consistent resource naming conventions (URIs).

• Layered System: architecture can consist of multiple layers (proxies, load balancers, etc.) without changing the client-server interaction.

• Code on Demand (optional): the server can transfer executable code to the client to extend functionality.

Example of using HTTP methods for the "users" resource:

• GET /users — retrieve a list of users
• GET /users/1 — retrieve user with ID 1
• POST /users — create a new user
• PUT /users/1 — update user data with ID 1
• DELETE /users/1 — delete user with ID 1

Adhering to these principles makes APIs simple, scalable, and easy to maintain.