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Representational State Transfer (REST) is an architectural pattern used in the design of services. REST is about the way in which you expose and make available to callers the contract of the service. REST, therefore, is opposed to SOAP.
A SOAP-based service uses a single URL to expose all functionalities and documents it through WSDL or a contract name. A REST service uses distinct URLs to point to distinct functionalities. A REST service documents functionalities through links and HTTP headers. Each operation has a unique URL plus optional HTTP headers.
Services consumed by AJAX applications should adhere to REST principles. But what if you use ASP.NET AJAX Extensions? Not so many ASP.NET AJAX developers know about REST. So what?
In ASP.NET AJAX you write RPC-style services (i.e., local Web services or page methods) but they're internally implemented through a REST-based HTTP handler. So the REST pattern does exist in ASP.NET AJAX but it's not exposed (with all of its benefits--mostly extensibility) to end developers. This is not necessarily a bad news. In the end, ASP.NET AJAX Extensions gives you a familiar programming interface and no additional burden. But if you put your hands on any AJAX books out there you inevitably find that mentioned. And no mention of it in ASP.NET AJAX Extensions.
Now you know why :)
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Soon back to Australia for ASP.NET, AJAX and even a bit of silver light ...
Coming down under in May. Read full details here.
Rich and enjoyable ASP.NET training with lots of tough but challenging labs and hot topics such as AJAX Extensions and the new baby--Microsoft Silverlight, the "upcoming" baby created to dethrone Adobe Flash on Windows and Mac platforms.
Once registered, contact me. If you have a particular tough problem you want to see addressed, speak up. I can't make real promises but might be able to bring a nice "present" through the customs--the solution to your issue, if not requisitioned :)
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June in Europe is generally a good time for traveling and enjoying outdoor experiences looking at old buildings, monuments, churches, fountains, and architecture in general. Yes, early summer is great for architecture, even if architecture is actually software architecture.
In London, June 12-14, software architects meet up to share ideas, discuss new patterns and practices. It's the first edition of the Software Architect conference from the same guys of premiere DevWeek conference.
I'll be there presenting about AJAX architecture principles and patterns.
For ASP.NET developers extensively using the partial rendering model the theme of architecture is perhaps less hot than for platform generic AJAX professionals. However, bear in mind that partial rendering is just one way of ajaxifying applications, the simplest and ideal to quickly update legacy applications. When you need just an AJAX-based presentation layer, front and back ends must be carefully thought and designed. A service-oriented back end is key; and new design patterns are helpful just because the lifecycle of AJAX applications is radically different from classic Web applications.
It's going to be fun and quite informative. Architectural principles will be discussed with examples mostly with ASP.NET AJAX in mind.
Don't miss it. See you there, Tuesday June 12.