Representational State Transfer (REST) is an architectural style that I developed while improving the core Web protocols (URI, HTTP, and HTML) and leading them through the IETF standardization process. I later described REST as the primary example in my dissertation. Since then, REST has been used (and sometimes abused) by many people throughout the world as a source of guidance for Web application design. But is the REST that we hear about today the same as what I defined in my dissertation, or has it taken on the baggage that comes with an industry buzzword? This talk will provide a real introduction to REST and the design goals behind its evolution as the Web's architectural style. This is not about XML-over-HTTP as an alternative to SOAP, nor about "resource-oriented" frameworks that help simplify CRUD operations, but rather about the design goals and trade-offs that influence the development of network-based applications. I will also describe what happens when we relax some of the REST constraints, and how such relaxation is impacting the design of the waka protocol as a replacement for HTTP.

1. A little REST and Relaxation
ApacheCon
Roy T. Fielding, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist, Day Software
V.P., Apache HTTP Server
http://roy.gbiv.com/talks/200804_REST_ApacheCon.pdf
Leading the Wave
of Open Source

2. Between us, we cover all knowledge;
he knows all that can be known and I know the REST. [Mark Twain]
Representational State Transfer
Web retrospective
Understanding Architecture
What is REST?
Why REST?
REST at Day
Q
Roy T. Fielding. “A little REST and Relaxation.” ApacheCon Europe, 10 April 2008 2