Hypermedia, expressed through HATEOAS, lets an API guide clients with hyperlinks. Instead of constructing every URL, a client selects named links to navigate resources and state transitions. section 7.2
Following ingredient links
A GET request to /ingredients can return an ingredient collection with self, ingredient, and profile links. A client can follow the ingredient link to request /ingredients/FLTO without hard-coding that resource URL. section 7.2
Hypermedia reduces client knowledge of API structure, but links add payload data and require clients to understand link-based navigation. Spring Data REST adds them automatically; Spring HATEOAS supports adding them in MVC responses. section 7.2
