rest/urls: Difference between revisions
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= URL Conventions = | = URL Conventions = | ||
The recommended conventions for RESTful URLs are those used by [http://topfunky.com/clients/peepcode/REST-cheatsheet.pdf Ruby on Rails] | The recommended conventions for RESTful URLs are those used by [http://topfunky.com/clients/peepcode/REST-cheatsheet.pdf Ruby on Rails]. Following these conventions for both HTTP method names and URL construction will allow your application to be consumed by ActiveResource, Jester, and other RESTful clients. | ||
== Routing == | == Routing == | ||
The principal unit of operation is the "collection", which typically corresponds to a database table or (in Rails) an ActiveRecord class. | |||
For a collection named "people", the primary routes would be: | For a collection named "people", the primary routes would be: | ||
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;POST /people/1/promote: run the "promote" action against the first record | ;POST /people/1/promote: run the "promote" action against the first record | ||
These should be used sparingly, as they are unlikely to be supported by most clients. | These should be used sparingly, as they are unlikely to be supported by most clients. | ||
== File Formats == | |||
Data types are extremely important in REST. While it is ideal to specify the appropriate mime-type, developers are encouraged to follow Rails in supporting extension-based typing, e.g.: | |||
;GET /people/1: return the first record in HTML format | |||
;GET /people/1.html: return the first record in HTML format | |||
;GET /people/1.xml: return the first record in XML format | |||
;GET /people/1.json: return the first record in HTML format | |||
Revision as of 22:37, 27 September 2007
URL Conventions
The recommended conventions for RESTful URLs are those used by Ruby on Rails. Following these conventions for both HTTP method names and URL construction will allow your application to be consumed by ActiveResource, Jester, and other RESTful clients.
Routing
The principal unit of operation is the "collection", which typically corresponds to a database table or (in Rails) an ActiveRecord class. For a collection named "people", the primary routes would be:
Operate on the Collection
- GET /people
- return a list of all records
- GET /people/new
- return a form for creating a new record
- POST /people
- submit fields for creating a new record
Operate on a Record
- GET /people/1
- return the first record
- DELETE /people/1
- destroy the first record
- GET /people/1/edit
- return a form to edit the first record
- PUT /people/1
- submit fields for updating the first record
Follow a Relationship
- GET /people/1/friends
- return the collection of friends associated with the first person
- GET /people/1/friends/1
- return the first friend of that person
Invoke Custom Actions
It isn't always possible to map everything into Create-Retrieve-Update-Delete (CRUD). Thus, there is also a syntax for specifying custom actions:
- POST /people/1/promote
- run the "promote" action against the first record
These should be used sparingly, as they are unlikely to be supported by most clients.
File Formats
Data types are extremely important in REST. While it is ideal to specify the appropriate mime-type, developers are encouraged to follow Rails in supporting extension-based typing, e.g.:
- GET /people/1
- return the first record in HTML format
- GET /people/1.html
- return the first record in HTML format
- GET /people/1.xml
- return the first record in XML format
- GET /people/1.json
- return the first record in HTML format