So if I made an API that would include in its responses other endpoints that can...

iio7 · on Aug 17, 2022

No, that would not make it REST. I suspect you didn't read the article thoroughly?

If your application needs documentation, i.e. a spec or similar, also referred to by some as a "profile", in order for the client to use your resources beyond the initial root URI, then that is not REST!

An API, no matter how you twist or turn it, can never be REST. REST are truly only for manual human consumption, not machines. That is why it is so weird everyone is calling their APIs for REST.

bern4444 · on Aug 17, 2022

I read the article fully.

If an API response included all the possible actions and information that one takes as a follow up to a previous call, how is that any different from providing the equivalent forms and links to additional information on a web page rendered by a browser?

It certainly seems possible to pigeonhole an API into a RESTful architecture but I understand why based on the article, APIs aren't often considered RESTful.

But it seems they can be. I see this as a proof by contradiction.

I, today, can navigate directly to posts by a friend of mine on a social media site. Auto logged in, not having to enter any form data etc. That's my starting point both in a browser and via API.

I'd see their post. Alongside that post I'd see actions I can take: clicking on other friends' profiles, liking the post, commenting on the post, removing the friend etc.

Encoding all that in an API might look like this:

  {
    name: 'john',
    userId: '12'
    nickName: 'johnny',
    posts: [
      { content: 'My funny comment', likes: 3, likedByUserIds: ['13', '14', '15' ], postId: 333 },
      { ... }
    ]
    relatedEndpoints: [
      '/users/12/friends/', : {}
      '/users/13', : {}
      '/users/14', : {}
      '/users/15', : {}
      '/like/333, : {}
      '/unlike/333', : {}
      '/remove-friend/12', : {}
      '/comment/333/' : { commentText: '' }
      ...
    ]
  }

In this way, the response to my request includes all the possible actions I can then take and what data I need to provide to take it (in the example of the comment route).

* No consulting of external documentation is needed, all the information is right there. *

I can explore another user's profile (people with user ids of 13, 14, and 15), I can like and unlike this post with the `/like/` and `/unlike` routes, I can remove this person from my friends list etc.

Including such information makes this response no different than what I can do via browsing the page - all my interactions with the API are directly driven by their responses - not by consuming outside documentation.

If all possible actions and their routes were included on route supported by my API, why would this not be RESTful?

At the end of the day - this to me is a distinction without a difference. Whether this documentation is defined as part of the response or stored in an OpenAPI spec, the end result is the same - I can easily wire things up together to accomplish my goals.

This is where SDKs become more useful.

SDKs are fully documented, require no external information for them to be used, contain everything possible that can be done as methods etc.

If I get a `User` class back from an SDK - I can then invoke all the methods on that user like - getFriends, getPostById, etc etc.

If I call a `getFriendById(12)` method I'd expect a `Friend` instance rather than a more generic `User` instance which should have a `removeFriend` method but no `addFriend` method. That appears equally as RESTful as a website with actions that can be taken.

iio7 · on Aug 18, 2022

You're missing the point. If you provide an API like in the example you give, put it out on the net at some domain, then in order for it to be REST, I MYST be able to access that domain, without any prior knowledge whatsoever, and make a request.

When I do that in the case you provide, I would not know anything about how to use those resources. Without any prior knowledge, I don't know what "users" are, or what a "like" is or an "unlike". In order for me to use this resource, I need documentation. Even if you provide the documentation in the response to the request, and I have to read that first, then it is NOT REST.

By the very nature of an API, it can never be REST.

bern4444 · on Aug 18, 2022

Okay, I understand the distinction but as I said, it seems to be a distinction without a difference.

The idea of REST has evolved beyond the initial definition to include a broader and far more impactful meaning. The abstraction of UI over data. The important piece is the data.

I could make an entire website, entry point and all that only returned json and included the links for actions users could take and other pages they could visit. Whether I use a browser to see that or my terminal with a cURL makes no difference.