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> a self-discoverable REST API I’ve been writing web services for over a decade and this just seems like a cute idea that is actually almost never at all usef
by coffee_beqn 4y ago
> a self-discoverable REST API
I’ve been writing web services for over a decade and this just seems like a cute idea that is actually almost never at all useful in the real world.
- kareemsabri 4y agoYep, there's a big gap between what's useful in Ph.D dissertations and what's useful in the business of software.
- kortex 4y agoSwagger/OpenApi is probably the closest thing to "true REST" with self-discoverable APIs. Without some sort of common schema of where/how to look for resources, there's no real automated discovery to be had without AGI. Turns out, a lot of places don't even want self-discovery. We shut off our openapi.json in prod because a) security b) we don't want bots messing around c) Hyrum's law, as soon as you expose an API endpoint, folks try to build against it and grumble if it chances/goes away. Wikipedia (along with any true wiki) is, and likely forever will be, the one true REST/HATEOAS application.