Re:The Restful CookBook
by icebraining on Sunday May 24, 2015 @03:59PM
(#9597355)
REST is well defined, it's just that most guides don't explain it well. REST is just a list of 6 possible characteristics of network protocols/architectures (Client/Server, Stateless, Cache, etc), and an explanation of the benefits gained by having them.
That said, it's true that REST by itself doesn't tell you how to build an API. But all of that arguing about PUT/POST/PATCH, links here or there, etc, are mostly bikeshedding. It's like arguing for tabs vs spaces or whether the { should go inline or not. Just read the HTTP spec and then, when in doubt, just pick one and try to be consistent.
But you're right that many programmers don't deal well with that. It'd be nice to have some kind of reference protocol using HTTP & JSON and complying with REST, even if it would be as arbitrary as any other possible RESTful protocol.
That said, it's true that REST by itself doesn't tell you how to build an API. But all of that arguing about PUT/POST/PATCH, links here or there, etc, are mostly bikeshedding. It's like arguing for tabs vs spaces or whether the { should go inline or not. Just read the HTTP spec and then, when in doubt, just pick one and try to be consistent.
But you're right that many programmers don't deal well with that. It'd be nice to have some kind of reference protocol using HTTP & JSON and complying with REST, even if it would be as arbitrary as any other possible RESTful protocol.