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Yes, but is it the wrong URI because the path is wrong (and then I'll double check the docs and my code), or was the 404 because the code is correct but the spe

by kzhahou 11y ago

Yes, but is it the wrong URI because the path is wrong (and then I'll double check the docs and my code), or was the 404 because the code is correct but the specific item could not be found? All you are saying is "it doesn't matter", which is unhelpful and ignores the fact that these are completely different error conditions. All server code for REST will be written in terms of /path/to/{ID}. We have a path, we have a instance ID, which each may be incorrect.

JimDabell 11y ago
> is it the wrong URI because the path is wrong (and then I'll double check the docs and my code) This is the source of the problem. REST APIs are hypertext-driven. They use links, like the web. You access resources by following links, not by constructing URIs. If you are reading the specification to find out which paths to use, then hard-coding them in your client software, then you don't have a REST architecture, you have something very different (which, unfortunately, some people insist on calling "REST" anyway). REST revolves around hypertext. You don't hard-code paths, the server provides resources that link to one another. The client accesses the resources by following the links, not by constructing URIs itself. If you have a REST architecture, then you can't get the path wrong in your client code because the path isn't in your client code. It's in a resource the server gives you. > All server code for REST will be written in terms of /path/to/{ID}. Perhaps, but the client should not be aware of this. The ID that a REST client uses is the URI. > We have a path, we have a instance ID, which each may be incorrect. The only ID that the client has is a URI, and if you get a 404, it means that there's no resource available for you to access with that ID. The client does not have a path, and the client does not have an instance ID. It only has a URI.

by kzhahou 11y ago

JimDabell 11y ago

> is it the wrong URI because the path is wrong (and then I'll double check the docs and my code) This is the source of the problem. REST APIs are hypertext-driven. They use links, like the web. You access resources by following links, not by constructing URIs. If you are reading the specification to find out which paths to use, then hard-coding them in your client software, then you don't have a REST architecture, you have something very different (which, unfortunately, some people insist on calling "REST" anyway). REST revolves around hypertext. You don't hard-code paths, the server provides resources that link to one another. The client accesses the resources by following the links, not by constructing URIs itself. If you have a REST architecture, then you can't get the path wrong in your client code because the path isn't in your client code. It's in a resource the server gives you. > All server code for REST will be written in terms of /path/to/{ID}. Perhaps, but the client should not be aware of this. The ID that a REST client uses is the URI. > We have a path, we have a instance ID, which each may be incorrect. The only ID that the client has is a URI, and if you get a 404, it means that there's no resource available for you to access with that ID. The client does not have a path, and the client does not have an instance ID. It only has a URI.