REST APIs must be hypertext-driven (2008)(roy.gbiv.com)

3 pointsby locknitpicker3 mesi fa1 comments

roy.gbiv.com

REST APIs must be hypertext-driven (2008)

https://roy.gbiv.com/untangled/2008/rest-apis-must-be-hypertext-driven

1 comments

Good to make clear that REST was a silly idea that was mostly ignored by everyone.

> A REST API must not define fixed resource names or hierarchies (an obvious coupling of client and server). [...] Instead, allow servers to instruct clients on how to construct appropriate URIs, such as is done in HTML forms and URI templates, by defining those instructions within media types and link relations.

I still don't understand how this was ever supposed to work. In order to follow a links path, you need advance knowledge of exactly what links are offered and where. This is exactly identical to defining a fixed resource name or hierarchy.