Restful Web Services Cookbook by Subbu Allamaraju
The format of Restful Web Services Cookbook is different than I’m used to. The book presents ideas in the form of a problem, a solution, and a discussion of the solution. It starts with simple concepts like HTTP verbs (GET, POST, PUT, etc.), and moves onto more complex topics, such as content negotiation and sending queries via HTTP.
Most eye-opening for me is the concept of providing in the data sent to the client links to perform related actions on the data, such as updating the record or rolling back changes to a previous version.
In my career, I typically focus on the tools of software development. This book ignored the tools to create and consume web services and focused on the format of the messages passed. It got me thinking at a lower level – about message headers and HTTP verbs – than I am used to thinking.
One hast to get past the fact that Allamaraju does not provide code for generating the requests and responses he describes. He does so in order to keep it technology-neutral and language-neutral. The reader has to apply the concepts to their own development skills in order to implement these recipes.
Restful Web Services Cookbook gave me new insight into the workings of HTTP. It took me out of my comfort zone and taught me a lot.
