All Aboard the Boxcar!Going Beyond the Basics of REST

Pat PattersonDeveloper Evangelist Architectppatterson@salesforce.com@metadaddy

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Safe Harbor

RESTful principles

When our REST API ran out of steam

The Boxcar

Composite resources – still REST?

Agenda

RESTful PrinciplesFielding’s Masterpiece

Client-Server• Separate UI from Data Storage• Independent evolution of componentsStateless• Each request is self-contained• Visibility, reliability, scalabilityCache• Responses labeled as cacheable, or not• Efficiency, scalability, performance

From http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch_style.htm

Fielding’s Six Constraints

Uniform Interface• Decouple implementations from services• Trade-off: degraded efficiencyLayered System• Each component cannot see beyond

the next layer

Code-On-Demand (optional)• Extend client functionality via applets (!)

or scripts

From http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch_style.htm

Fielding’s Six Constraints

Identification of resources• Resource: “any information that can be named”Manipulation of resources through representations• Current or intended state of resourceSelf-descriptive messages• Metadata: e.g. media type, last modified timeHypermedia as the engine of application state• Resource navigation via links contained in the representation

From http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch_style.htm

Uniform Interface

Resources identified by URIs• http://api.example.com/widgets/w000123

Representation by Internet media types• JSONHTTP with standard methods• GET, PUT, POST, DELETE, PATCHHypertext links between resources• No ‘magic knowledge’ driving interaction

REST in Practice - 2015

Force.com REST API DemoPrinciples in Practice

Transactional semantics when creating hierarchies of objects?• ‘Stateless’ REST constraint means that transaction context is

tricky

Performance with high latency networks (mobile clients)• Client framework has a message queue, wants to submit

multiple operations in a single network request

But… All Was Not Perfect in the REST API!

POST to /vXX.X/composite/tree/ObjectName{ "records" :[{ "attributes" : {"type" : "Account", "referenceId" : "ref1"}, "name" : "SampleAccount", "Contacts" : { "records" : [{ "attributes" : {"type" : "Contact", "referenceId" : "ref2"}, "lastname" : "Smith", "email" : smith@example.com }, { "attributes" : {"type" : "Contact", "referenceId" : "ref3"}, "lastname" : "Jones", "email" : jones@example.com }] } }]}

Create whole hierarchies of related objects in a single requestSolution 1: Object Trees

{ "hasErrors" : false, "results" : [{ "referenceId" : "ref1", "id" : "001D000000K0fXOIAZ" },{ "referenceId" : "ref2", "id" : "001D000000K0fXPIAZ" },{ "referenceId" : "ref3", "id" : "003D000000QV9n2IAD" }] }

Object Tree Response

Object Tree DemoPrinciples in Practice

✔ Client-Server✔ Stateless✔ Cache? Uniform Interface✔ Layered System

Is This RESTful?

✔ Identification of resources✔ Manipulation of resources through representations✔ Self-descriptive messages✔ Hypermedia as the engine of application state

What About Uniform Interface?

POST to /vXX.X/composite/batch{ "batchRequests" : [{ "method" : "PATCH", "url" : "v34.0/sobjects/account/001D000000K0fXOIAZ", "richInput" : {"Name" : "NewName"} },{ "method" : "GET", "url" : "v34.0/sobjects/account/001D000000K0fXOIAZ?fields=Name,LastModifiedDate" }] }

Coalesce independent requestsSolution 2: Batch Requests

{ "hasErrors" : false, "results" : [{ "statusCode" : 204, "result" : null },{ "statusCode" : 200, "result": { "attributes" : { "type" : "Account", "url" : "/services/data/v34.0/sobjects/Account/001D000000K0fXOIAZ" }, "Name" : "NewName", "LastModifiedDate" : "2015-01-27T20:51:14.000+0000", "Id" : "001D000000K0fXOIAZ" } }] }

Batch Response

Batch DemoPrinciples in Practice

✔ Client-Server✔ Stateless✔ Cache? Uniform Interface✔ Layered System

Is This RESTful?

✔ Identification of resources✔ Manipulation of resources through representations✔ Self-descriptive messages✔ Hypermedia as the engine of application state

Straight JSON via HTTP is just one pattern, not the law!

What About Uniform Interface?

Go read (or reread!) Fielding’s dissertation…at the very least, read chapter 5!

Follow the REST orthodoxy…until it makes more sense to blaze a new trail…and, even then, check that you’re not driving over a cliff!

Conclusion

Thank you