When people are being pedantic, "REST" refers specifically to a set of architectural guidelines for application and API design, including things like statelessn

When people are being pedantic, "REST" refers specifically to a set of architectural guidelines for application and API design, including things like statelessness and HATEOAS[1]. Most "REST" APIs don't adhere to these, and are just endpoints for shoving JSON around (sometimes with idiomatic HTTP verbs). But this is pedantry. REST has become a generic term for "shoving JSON around," for better or worse. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HATEOAS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HATEOAS