We’ve kind of half-done this on our current project. The representations we return are generated from domain objects, and the client can ask for them either in XML, JSON, or XHTML. If it’s an XHTML client like Firefox, then a person sees a set of outbound links from the well-known root resource and can browse … Read more
The Hypermedia Constraint (formerly known as HATEOAS) is a constraint that is used to provide direction to the user-agent. By including links in returned representations, the server can remove the burden from the user-agent of determining what actions can be taken based on the current application state and knowing who to interact with in-order to … Read more
This is definitely a tough nut to crack. At Google, we’ve implemented our Discovery Service that all our new APIs are built against. The TL;DR version is we generate a JSON Schema-like spec that our clients can parse – many of them dynamically. That results means easier SDK upgrades for the developer and easy/better maintenance … Read more
HATEOAS is a concept of application architecture. It defines the way in which application clients interact with the server, by navigating hypermedia links they find inside resource models returned by the server. To implement HATEOAS you need some standard way of representing resources, that will contain hypermedia information (links to related resources), for example, something … Read more
There is a subtle conceptual ambiguity when people say “relative URI”. By RFC3986’s definition, a generic URI contains: URI = scheme “:” hier-part [ “?” query ] [ “#” fragment ] hier-part = “//” authority path-abempty / path-absolute / path-rootless / path-empty foo://example.com:8042/over/there?name=ferret#nose \_/ \______________/\_________/ \_________/ \__/ | | | | | scheme authority path … Read more
I think your explanation mostly covers it. URIs are opaque identifiers that should, for the most part, not be communicated beyond the bookmark URI that is used by the user agent to access the app. As for documenting, this question has been done quite a few times. You document your media type, together with the … Read more
Its not an implementation in the sense of running code, but I really like the article “How to GET a cup of coffee” on InfoQ. It describes the process of ordering a coffee at Starbucks as a RESTful protocol. This goes beyond the typical “everything is a resource” REST introductory article and focuses on HATEOAS. … Read more
Nobody in the REST community says REST is easy. HATEOAS is just one of the aspects that adds difficulty to a REST architecture. People don’t do HATEOAS for all the reasons you suggest: it’s difficult. It adds complexity to both the server-side and the client (if you actually want to benefit from it). HOWEVER, billions … Read more
Why you should use DTOs in your REST API DTO stands for Data Transfer Object. This pattern was created with a very well defined purpose: transfer data to remote interfaces, just like web services. This pattern fits very well in a REST API and DTOs will give you more flexibility in the long run. The … Read more