Hello, and welcome! My name is Ben Lambert, and I’ll be your instructor for this course. A bit about me, I started developing software before the modern cloud existed. And during that time I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a wide variety of projects. Projects spanning programming languages, operating systems, and cloud platforms. 

Through this course, I’m hoping to share some of the lessons I’ve learned during that time. Should you want to ask me a specific question, you can do that with the contact details on screen. You can also reach support by using the email address: support@cloudacademy.com. And one of our cloud experts will reply.

Building web-based client-server applications presents challenges for long-term maintenance. Fortunately, there are design patterns which are designed to help. The goal for this course is to introduce you to a web API architectural style called REST. After learning about the REST API architecture you’ll have a general understanding of the structure of REST APIs. This will provide you with a foundation for further exploring web and REST APIs.

Before taking this course there are some things you’ll want to already know:

• You should have at least a conceptual understanding of programming.

• It’s okay if you’re not yet developing complex software. 

• As long as you’re comfortable with the concept of data structures, data types, etc.

• A basic understanding of the HTTP protocol would be helpful. Though, not required.

During this course, I’ll introduce you to:

• Web APIs

• REST APIs

• REST API tools

As a content creator, the only way to improve content is through your feedback. Positive or negative, if you have any feedback you’d like to share you can do that by emailing support@cloudacademy.com. Now, if you’re ready to begin, then I will see you in the next lesson!