REST

REST (REpresentative State Transfer) is a technique for implementing WebServices using XML documents plus standard HTTP, using its well-known operations (PUT, GET, POST, DELETE). The service-specific API is created by defining URIs (typically URLs) and XML documents that model the data structures and requests/responses required. REST has some very useful properties, e.g. you can use standard firewalls for security, standard caching for performance, while still letting you do everything that SOAP and XML-RPC can do.

For more information, see this excellent article, which includes examples such as how REST could dramatically simplify the SOAP-based UDDI directory service. Other resources are:

• The REST Wiki (using MoinMoin) with more information and links.
• Amazon is using REST instead of SOAP for an API used by 'virtual bookstores' (Amazon Associates).

The relevance for TWiki is that REST lets you implement web services (e.g. for TextFileExport) without adding a completely new technology such as XmlRpc or SOAP, and it retains the very useful property that URLs continue to name resources, whether they are web pages or a TWiki data item such as a topic, table item, WebChanges item, or whatever.

REST should also make it simpler to evolve WebServices clients and servers without inflexible point-to-point RPC bindings as with SOAP or XmlRpc - avoiding such point-to-point integrations is a key trend in large enterprises that can afford 'integration bus' software such as Tibco Rendezvous.

So... do people think TWiki should go for SOAP, REST, XmlRpc or something else?

-- RichardDonkin - 18 Apr 2002

I just found this topic when my last comment WikiWorded? to it. I would definitely go with SOAP+REST given the choice, as it's fast becoming a useful reality amongst the blogging community, and I think that Wiki's and Blogs are going to become far closer than they already are...

(TrackBack to TWikiOnPhp)

-- MichaelKearns - 14 Jan 2003

My vote goes for simple REST. E.g. a POST request to http://my.si.te/upload/Web/MyTopic is the missing link for an external editor like DownUploadForEditing.

In terms of search like e.g. TWikiSyndication, TWiki is already pretty close.

A quote from http://www.xfront.com/REST-Web-Services.html

As a matter of style URLs should not reveal the implementation technique used. You need to be free to change your implementation without impacting clients or having misleading URLs.

-- 2c by PeterKlausner 16 Jan 2003

Interesting article about Amazon's use of REST as well as SOAP - apparently REST is far more popular than SOAP, and 6 times quicker...

-- RichardDonkin - 07 Nov 2003

For an example of REST with TWiki see XslWiki and it's GoogleML? web search with content returned to TWiki Edit screen.

Someones view of REST http://www.prescod.net/rest/mistakes/

-- JohnCoe - 12 Mar 2004

The RSS interface to TWiki can be used as a XML source of TWiki data.

http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Sandbox/TestRSS?skin=rss&contenttype=text/xml is a sample source of custom summary of TWiki data. '?skin=rss&contenttype=text/xml' will format the data to XML.

Attached to XslSample is a XSL stylesheet that brings the content into a TWiki edit session. The search in TestRssBase controls the content of the XML file.

%SEARCH{"%WIKIUSERNAME%" web="Codev" regex="on" nosearch="on" order="modified" reverse="on" nototal="on" limit="16" format="<item rdf:about=\"%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/$web/$topic\">$n  <title>$topic</title>$n  <link>%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/$web/$topic?t=$isodate</link>$n  <description>$summary</description>$n  <dc:date>$isodate</dc:date>$n  <dc:contributor>$n    <rdf:Description link=\"%SCRIPTURL%/view%SCRIPTSUFFIX%?topic=$wikiusername\">$n      <rdf:value>$username</rdf:value>$n    </rdf:Description>$n  </dc:contributor>$n  <wiki:version>$rev</wiki:version>$n  <wiki:status>updated</wiki:status>$n  <wiki:importance>new</wiki:importance>$n  <wiki:diff>%SCRIPTURL%/rdiff%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/$web/$topic</wiki:diff>$n  <wiki:history>%SCRIPTURL%/rdiff%SCRIPTSUFFIX%/$web/$topic</wiki:history>$n</item>"}%

This can be used with the other tools in XslWiki and and can be parsed with [RssWiki.xsl] (currently in XslSample

-- JohnCoe - 30 Mar 2004

Implementing REST Web Services: Best Practices and Guidelines The purpose of this article is to summarize some best practices and guidelines for implementing RESTful web services.

1. BP: best practice
2. G: general guideline
3. PS: proposed informal standard
4. TIP: implementation tip
5. AR: arguably RESTful -- may not be RESTful in the strict sense

-- WillNorris - 29 Aug 2004

It seems to me that REST would allow plugins that formerly needed add-on scripts (like VotePlugin) to work as just a plugin, leaving the dangerous footwork to a proven binary.

However, I don't seem to find any code examples of using REST in a plugin, except for the very basic one in the EmptyPlugin. Basically I'm looking for "standard" ways to:

• Report success or failure
• err, that's it, the rest seems straightforward

Any pointers?

-- WoutMertens - 18 Dec 2006

We get similar questions quite a lot. What is missing is a SupplementalDocument on REST, such as a TWikiRestProgrammingTutorial? . Anyone inclined to write one?

-- PeterThoeny - 19 Dec 2006