&gt; Everyone talks about it, but no one ever &#x27;understands&#x27; it.<p>There are people who understand it to varying degrees. Some who completely understand it and some who don&#x27;t understand it at all.<p>So no, it&#x27;s not a buzzword, it&#x27;s just a concept.<p>PS. Dropbox&#x27;s API requires a lot of hardcoding because of that very switch. Hardcoding that HATEOAS lets you avoid.