Re: How much REST should your Web API get?

+1


2013/5/2 Mike Schinkel <[email protected]>

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> On May 2, 2013, at 2:34 PM, Jan Algermissen <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> I'd say, the vast majority of Web APIs fails to be RESTful because people
> simply did not follow the style. Show me a single example that has been
> deliberately designed  unRESTful on the basis of design principles.
>
>
> I think that last statement is demonstrably provable to be false. To make
> a web API purely RESTful takes more effort on the part of the client and
> some who have published web APIs have on purpose chosen not to require that
> effort. I can't point to specific APIs at this moment but I know I've read
> posts from others on various other web API-related lists such as API
> Craft saying that pure REST makes it harder than they want for people to
> succeed at using their web API.
>
> Of course if they then call their web API RESTful they are in the wrong.
>
> Further, and this (only) a slight tangent but the more I learn about pure
> REST the more I come to believe that the focus on hypermedia constraint it
> a red herring when an application-specific media type is not used. AFAICT
> very promoting hypermedia make the explicit point that hypermedia does not
> bring the benefits of REST without a dedicated media type. By itself
> hypermedia just adds complexity; with a dedicated media-type a client can
> be built that "knows" what do with the links found in the media type but I
> see (almost?) nobody advocating this besides some cryptic comments from Roy
> on his blog almost 5 years ago.
>
> -Mike
>
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