In a RESTful API, what does the server do with each request?

• A. Stores all previous requests
• B. Handles as a new request
• C. Processes based on previous interactions
• D. Validates user sessions

Answer: (B)

In a RESTful API, the server processes each incoming request as a new and independent transaction. This statelessness is a fundamental principle of REST architecture, meaning that each request from the client contains all the necessary information for the server to fulfill that request. The server does not keep any context or state information about previous requests, which allows for scalability and simplifies server design.

By treating each request as new, the server can efficiently handle multiple requests simultaneously without any reliance on the context of prior interactions. This design promotes a clean separation of concerns, where the server responds strictly to the request at hand, based solely on the current data sent by the client.

The other options imply mechanisms that would either require the server to maintain some state or context (such as storing previous requests, processing based on prior interactions, or validating user sessions), which are not aligned with the stateless nature of RESTful APIs. Thus, the correct understanding is the server's approach to handling every request distinctly as a new one, upholding the core principles of REST.