book

REST in Practice

by Jim Webber, Savas Parastatidis, Ian Robinson

September 2010

Intermediate to advanced

446 pages

13h 23m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Related skills

RESTful API

Associated roles

Android developer
Cloud solutions architect
Frontend developer
iOS developer

Senior software developer
Software architect

+2 more

Should I Read This Book?Should I Skip This Book?ResourcesWhat Did You Think About the Book?ErrataConventions Used in This BookUsing Code ExamplesHow to Contact UsSafari® Books OnlineAcknowledgments
Architecture of the WebThinking in ResourcesResources and IdentifiersResource RepresentationsRepresentation Formats and URIsThe Art of CommunicationFrom the Web Architecture to the REST Architectural StyleHypermediaREST and the Rest of This BookThe Web As an Application PlatformTechnology SupportScalability and PerformanceLoose CouplingBusiness ProcessesConsistency and UniformitySimplicity, Architectural Pervasiveness, and ReachWeb Friendliness and the Richardson Maturity ModelLevel Zero ServicesLevel One ServicesLevel Two ServicesLevel Three ServicesGET on Board
Restbucks: A Little Coffee Shop with Global AmbitionsActors and ConversationsBoundariesThe MenuSample InteractionsCustomer–BaristaCustomer–Cashier–BaristaToolboxRestbucks FormatsModeling Protocols and State TransitionsHere Comes the Web
Lose Weight, Feel Great!A Simple Coffee Ordering SystemChoosing Integration Points for a ServiceA Simple Service ArchitectureURI TemplatesIntuitive URIsFrom Intuitive URIs to URI TemplatesUsing URI TemplatesURI TunnelingIs URI Tunneling a Good Idea?POX: Plain Old XML over HTTPUsing XML and HTTP for Remote Procedure CallsPOX Away!Server-side POX implementation in .NETServer-side POX in JavaClient-Side POX ImplementationUsing the .NET WebClient to invoke the ordering serviceUsing the Apache Commons HttpClient in JavaXML-RPCWhat About When Things Go Wrong?We Are Just Getting Started
Modeling Orders As ResourcesBuilding CRUD ServicesCreating a Resource with POSTImplementing create with POSTReading Resource State with GETImplementing read with GETUpdating a Resource with PUTImplementing update with PUTRemoving a Resource with DELETESafety and IdempotencyAligning Resource StateConsuming CRUD ServicesA Java-Based ConsumerA .NET ConsumerConsuming Services Automatically with WADLCRUD Is Good, but It’s Not Great
The Hypermedia TenetHypermedia As the Engine of Application StateLoose CouplingHypermedia FormatsHypermedia Dead EndsURI Templates and CouplingSelecting a Hypermedia FormatStandard hypermedia formatsDomain-specific hypermedia formatsProcessing Hypermedia FormatsMedia typesA media type for RestbucksWhy application/xml doesn’t helpMedia type design and formatsContractsContracts Begin with Media TypesExtending Contracts with ProtocolsHTTP IdiomsUsing Contracts at RuntimeHypermedia ProtocolsThe Restbucks Domain Application ProtocolAdvertising Protocols with HypermediaDynamically Extending the Application ProtocolData Modeling Versus Protocol HypermediaImplementing a Hypermedia ServiceBuilding the Ordering Service in JavaService ArchitectureJava ImplementationResourcesRepresentationsWorkflow activitiesConsumer-Side ArchitectureJava Consumer ImplementationBuilding the Ordering Service in .NETThe Restbucks .NET Hypermedia FrameworkAn External DSL for Hypermedia InteractionsImplementation Considerations for .NETResource creationMain service logicPaymentDeliveryReady, Set, Action
GET Back to BasicsCachingBenefits of CachingCaching and the Statelessness ConstraintReasons for Not CachingTypes of CachesMaking Content CacheableResponse Headers Used for CachingUsing Caching Directives in ResponsesImplementing Caching in .NETConsistencyUsing ValidationUsing ExpirationUsing InvalidationExtending FreshnessCache ChannelsStay Fresh
The FormatCommon Uses for AtomUsing Atom for Event-Driven SystemsThe ProblemReference DataEvent-Driven UpdatesThe Anatomy of an EventSolution OverviewLink RelationsPolling for Recent EventsNavigating the ArchiveCaching FeedsImplementation ConsiderationsBuilding an Atom Service in JavaServer-Side ArchitectureManaging FeedsJava ImplementationUsing Jersey for HTTP connectivityGenerating feeds with ROMEJava Consumer ImplementationBuilding an Atom Service in .NETWriting Feeds to FilesTasksBuilding FeedsHandling RequestsWriting the responseImplementing Conditional GETsWiring It UpAtom Everywhere?After the Event
Atom Publishing ProtocolOverviewWhen to Use AtomPubAnatomy of AtomPubCollectionsMembersCategory and service documentsAtomPub Extensions to Atomapp:editedapp:control and app:draftedit and edit-media link relation valuestype parametersConcurrency ControlImplementing Order Fulfillment Using AtomPubOverviewAdding an Order to the Fulfillment PipelineBeginning FulfillmentFailed reservationTry againWhere are we?Completing the ProtocolExceptionsSummaryImplementing More Complex ProtocolsImplementing AtomPub in .NETImplementing AtomPub Collections and MembersUsing Collections and Members for Order FulfillmentTesting WCF REST ServicesWCF Service ImplementationA Versatile Protocol

HTTP Security EssentialsHTTP Authentication and AuthorizationTransport-Level Confidentiality and IntegrityNetwork and Performance ConsiderationsIdentity and the OpenID ProtocolProtocol FlowOpenID in JavaAn OpenID-enabled Java consumerRestbucks Java ordering serviceJava OpenID providerPractical Considerations for OpenIDThe OAuth ProtocolThe Next Best Thing to Free Coffee?Protocol ExampleImplementing OAuth in JavaCoffee voucher serviceRestbucks payment serviceRestbucks customerPractical Considerations for OAuthService Hacks and DefensesDenial of ServiceKeep Secrets SecretAct DefensivelyLess Is BestDefend in DepthFinal Thoughts
Syntax Versus SemanticsStructure and Representation of InformationData, Information, KnowledgeStructureInterpretationShared UnderstandingSemanticsThe Semantic WebRDFOWLThe Restbucks ontologySPARQLRDFaMicroformatsLinked Data and the WebGuidance
Are Web Services Evil?SOAP: The Whole TruthThe SOAP Processing ModelMake Love, Not WarEnvelopeHeadersBodyIntermediariesFaultsWSDL: Just Another Object IDLTwo Wrongs Don’t Make a RightSecure, Reliable, TransactedSecurityEnd-to-end modelSecuring long-lived conversationsIssuing security tokensFederating identitiesWeb services security: Sophisticated and robust, or complex and opaque?Web SecurityFederated authentication on the WebReliable MessagingReliability on the WebTransactionsWeb TransactionsUn-transactionsRespecting boundariesA Requiem for Web Services?
No More Silver BulletsBuilding and Running Web-Based ServicesNo Architecture Without MeasurementSelling the WebCostMitigate Risk and Release Value, Early and OftenGo Forth and Build

Overview

Why don't typical enterprise projects go as smoothly as projects you develop for the Web? Does the REST architectural style really present a viable alternative for building distributed systems and enterprise-class applications?

In this insightful book, three SOA experts provide a down-to-earth explanation of REST and demonstrate how you can develop simple and elegant distributed hypermedia systems by applying the Web's guiding principles to common enterprise computing problems. You'll learn techniques for implementing specific Web technologies and patterns to solve the needs of a typical company as it grows from modest beginnings to become a global enterprise.

Learn basic Web techniques for application integration
Use HTTP and the Web’s infrastructure to build scalable, fault-tolerant enterprise applications
Discover the Create, Read, Update, Delete (CRUD) pattern for manipulating resources
Build RESTful services that use hypermedia to model state transitions and describe business protocols
Learn how to make Web-based solutions secure and interoperable
Extend integration patterns for event-driven computing with the Atom Syndication Format and implement multi-party interactions in AtomPub
Understand how the Semantic Web will impact systems design