Chapter 09: Resources

A resource is the fundamental building block of a REST API. In the broader context of the internet, every resource is uniquely identified by a URI. In this sense, every URL can be considered a resource identifier. For example:

https://api.com/invoices

In the narrower context of REST APIs, a resource refers to an abstract object of a certain type that can be manipulated using HTTP methods. It does not have to be a specific document or a database record. A resource can also be a conceptual entity, such as an invoice, order, payment, customer, or even the state of an order.