REST API

Representational State Transfer – Application Programming Interface

A REST API is a programming interface through which other systems access an ERP's data and functions over HTTP in a standardised way.

REST API: Not to be confused with

REST is NOT a protocol like SOAP, but an architectural style with fixed principles: stateless requests, uniformly addressed resources, standard HTTP methods. Many ERP vendors additionally offer older or alternative interface forms such as OData or SOAP web services.

The REST architectural style was described by Roy Fielding in his 2000 doctoral dissertation and has since become the basis for most modern web interfaces (Source 1). For an ERP, a REST API means external systems, for example an online shop or a business intelligence application, can read and change customers, articles or orders through clearly defined URLs, without needing to know the ERP’s source code.

The system profiles in the systems overview list a “schnittstellen” field where REST API, OData and vendor-specific formats are documented per system.

Related terms

• ERP

Sources for REST API

1. Roy T. Fielding, "Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures", PhD dissertation, UC Irvine (Chapter 5, REST) ↗