Is it just me, or do REST API's literally rule the world right now?

Feeling like I can automate the universe.

But this is a real question. Are there reasons to avoid using web API's rather than sending data through some kind of shared database? I guess I'm not even sure what the alternatives would be right now... Are there disadvantages I should know about?

The point of an API is to facade the data. It could ultimately be a shared database. But if you change the architecture or format of that database, your interaction will need to change to. When you get your data from an API, it really doesn’t matter what’s under the hood. And that’s the point. If you’re consuming the API, you shouldn’t care a damn how it’s ultimately structured.

An alternative could be a soap api.

@CrankyOldDev thanks man! That's kind of the answer I was hoping I would find.