Discuss the concept of RESTful APIs in the context of Ruby on Rails. How can you build and consume RESTful APIs?

RESTful APIs play a fundamental role in modern web development, and Ruby on Rails provides a robust framework for building and consuming RESTful APIs. Let's dive into the concept of RESTful APIs in the context of Ruby on Rails and explore how you can build and consume them. 1. Understanding RESTful APIs: REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style that defines a set of principles for designing networked applications. RESTful APIs are built around these principles, providing a standardized way to expose and manipulate resources over HTTP. RESTful APIs follow the client-server model, where the server exposes endpoints for clients to perform operations on resources using standard HTTP methods. 2. Building RESTful APIs in Ruby on Rails: In Ruby on Rails, building RESTful APIs is ingrained in the framework's design principles. Here's an overview of the key steps involved: a. Define Resources: Identify the resources your API will expose, such as users, products, or articles. Each resource typically corresponds to a model in Ruby on Rails. Define the necessary attributes and relationships for each resource. b. Define Routes: In Rails, routes map URLs to specific controller actions. Use the....