REST Cheat Sheet
Example service URI
https://foobar.com/collection/element
Interface
| Verb | Collection | Element | Success code |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | List | Representation | 200 OK |
| POST | Create element with system assigned URI | Not used | 201 CREATED |
| PUT | Replace collection | Replace element | 201 CREATED |
| DELETE | Delete collection | Delete element | 204 NO CONTENT |
| OPTIONS | Describe interface | Describe interface | 200 OK |
| HEAD | Metadata | Metadata | 200 OK |
Key concepts
Idempotent – same result each time (PUT, DELETE) Safe method (nullipotent) – no side effects (GET)
Top HTTP status codes
- 200 OK
- 201 CREATED
- 204 NO_CONTENT
- 400 BAD_REQUEST
- 401 UNAUTHORIZED
- 403 FORBIDDEN
- 404 NOT_FOUND
- 409 CONFLICT
Strategies for delivering different content
- URI based (*.xml, *.json, *.jpg, …)
- ACCEPT header mime type list on requests. Then either deliver content using 3xx redirect code or select the most appropriate representation and deliver it directly
Versioning strategy
- Build the service version number into the URI
- Use the ACCEPT header