Creating a solid REST API in Java requires more than a basic grasp of HTTP requests and responses. Ensuring that your API is well-designed, maintainable, and secure is essential. This article will offer four critical tips to improve your REST API. It assumes you are already acquainted with the Richardson Maturity Model, especially up to Level 2, which is the minimum requirement for a good API. If you need a quick reminder about the Richardson Maturity Model, I recommend reading this article by Martin Fowler: Richardson Maturity Model.
Given that prerequisite, let’s dive into the tips. For illustration purposes, we’ll use an example from the expedition domain. While we won’t focus on entities and layers in detail, imagine we have the following entity class:
