:original_name: asm_api_0027.html
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API Usage Guidelines
====================
Public cloud APIs comply with the RESTful API design principles. REST-based web services are organized into resources. Each resource is identified by one or more Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs). An application accesses a resource based on the resource's Uniform Resource Locator (URL). A URL is usually in the following format: *https://Endpoint/URI*. In the URL, **uri** indicates the resource path, that is, the API access path.
Public cloud APIs use HTTPS as the transmission protocol. Requests/Responses are transmitted by using JSON messages, with media type represented by **application/json**.
For details about how to use APIs, see `API Usage Guidelines `__.