REST API Design

Experience with REST API Design

REST API design is one of Pablo Diaz's core competencies, refined through production experience at Amazon AWS and applied across every Blossend platform. His REST API architecture follows the principles he internalized at Amazon: resource-oriented URLs that model the business domain, consistent HTTP method semantics (GET for reads, POST for creates, PATCH for updates, DELETE for removes), standardized error responses with machine-readable error codes and human-readable messages, and hypermedia links for API discoverability. On OpenMyPro, the REST API layer handles all client-server communication for the healthcare marketplace — provider search queries, appointment bookings, patient profile management, payment processing, review submissions, and admin operations. Each endpoint follows a consistent pattern: input validation with Zod schemas, authentication verification through JWT tokens, authorization checks against user roles (patient, provider, admin), business logic execution, and standardized JSON response formatting. The API supports pagination through cursor-based navigation (more reliable than offset-based for real-time data), filtering through query parameters with type-safe parsing, and rate limiting to prevent abuse. With Next.js App Router, many traditional REST API patterns are now handled through Server Actions — which provide the same request/response semantics but with tighter TypeScript integration, automatic form serialization, and progressive enhancement. Pablo uses a hybrid approach: Server Actions for same-application data mutations (form submissions, state updates), and traditional REST API routes for cross-application communication, webhook receivers (Stripe, Supabase auth events), and public API endpoints that external services consume. His API documentation follows OpenAPI/Swagger standards, and his error handling strategy ensures that every API consumer receives actionable error information without exposing internal system details — a practice drilled into him at Amazon where public API surface area is treated with extreme care.

Frequently Asked Questions