RESTful API Getting Started: Developing a Simple GET Data Interface with Flask

This article introduces the concept of RESTful APIs and implementing a GET interface with Flask. RESTful APIs are HTTP-based front-end and back-end interaction architectures centered on resources, manipulating resources through GET/POST/PUT/DELETE operations, stateless, and returning JSON data. Flask is chosen for its lightweight and flexibility, making it suitable for beginner development. Flask can be installed via `pip install flask` (virtual environment is optional). Implementation involves two steps: first, define the root path `/` to return "Hello, Flask!", with the core code being the `@app.route('/')` decorator and the `return` statement with a string; second, implement the `/users` interface to return user list JSON data, requiring the import of `jsonify` and returning the converted list. After starting the application, access `http://localhost:5000/users` through a browser, curl, or Postman for testing. Core steps include: importing Flask, initializing the application, defining route functions, returning data, and starting the service. Future extensions can include more routes or database integration.