What does RESTful web applications mean?

java, php, rest, web-services

Solution

- Correct

- The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network".

- A fully RESTful service is one that adheres to all or the architectural constraints as layed out in Roy Fielding's thesis, Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures. It's a long read and there are many interpretations. A good start would be to familiarise yourself with the Richardson Maturity Model. NOTE: Most Web Services that claim to be RESTful are only at level 2 in that model.

Problem

A web service is a function that can be accessed by other programs over the web (Http). To clarify a bit, when you create a website in PHP that outputs HTML its target is the browser and by extension the human being reading the page in the browser. A web service is not targeted at humans but rather at other programs. - SOAP and REST are two ways of creating WebServices. Correct me if i am wrong? - What are other ways i can create a WebService? - What does it mean fully RESTful web Application?

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