This isn't the future. This is the present. We built Userify[1] (ssh key management for EC2 & elsewhere) entirely using this model (REST API) because it gives

This isn't the future. This is the present. We built Userify[1] (ssh key management for EC2 & elsewhere) entirely using this model (REST API) because it gives us a clean way to inspect incoming data and respond with pure JSON. Since it's just JSON over HTTPS, clients are all easily implementable in any language (i.e., Javascript and HTML5 for the web app, beta client SDK's currently in Python and JS, more on their way), or just a curl shell script. (The agent[2] is just a single Python script with no dependencies.) And, now, with great tools like Phonegap/Adobe Build/etc, you can convert your responsive mobile web app into an Android or iPhone app in seconds (performance is no longer an issue, either). Best of all, you maintain a clean separation of concerns and isolation between your API resources and the front end. Compared to the server-driven ways from the last century, this is so much better; we can provide a full desktop app experience, make it feel more like a web page, or anywhere in between. AJAX changed everything. This is simply better. 1. https://userify.com https://userify.com 2. https://github.com/userify/shim https://github.com/userify/shim