Question

I’ve tried searching but I can’t figure out how to access data via a RESTful interface. I’m looking for just example code that shows someone access some data from some imaginary web service using its API. A simple “how-it-works” explanation would be helpful too.

Answer 1

Kind of a hot topic. Expect an explosion of answers 😉

REST works on the principle of using HTTP request methods to determine an application’s (the REST server) action on an object. The 4 HTTP methods commonly used are GET, POST, PUT and DELETE.

Say, for example, the object in question is user data. The REST url/object might look something like http://mydomain.com/services/user

If we wanted to get information about existing user, you could GET http://mydomain.com/services/user/someuserid.

If we wanted to create a user, you would use POST http://mydomain.com/services/user and the request body would contain the user’s information.

If we wanted to change a user’s info, you would use PUT http://mydomain.com/services/user/someuserid. Again, the request body would contain the user’s new information.

If we wanted to delete a user, you would use DELETE http://mydomain.com/services/user/someuserid

In summary, the 4 different HTTP methods generally have these meanings, but can differ from server to server, depending on how RESTful it is:

• GET == get, fetch, retrieve, and other synonyms
• POST == create, add
• PUT == change, alter
• DELETE == delete, remove