By using the Java™ API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) API, application developers can quickly develop RESTful applications. When planning to use JAX-RS to enable RESTful services, consider how to best implement the capabilities and characteristics of a RESTful application with JAX-RS.
You can use Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) to develop services that follow Representational State Transfer (REST) principles. RESTful services are based on manipulating resources. Resources can contain static or dynamically updated data. By identifying the resources in your application, you can make the service more useful and easier to develop.
Representational State Transfer (REST) services are based on manipulating resources. Resources for RESTful services are addressable, and URLs are the primary way of achieving addressability in REST.
Individual resources can define their capabilities using supported HTTP methods. In Representational State Transfer (REST) services, the supported methods are GET, PUT, DELETE, and POST. All operations are typically conducted by using one of the predefined HTTP methods with a resource.
HTTP headers and status codes are useful to help intermediary and client programs understand information about requests and responses for applications. HTTP headers contain metadata information. HTTP status codes provide status information about the response.
Resources are represented by many different formats. XML, JavaScript™ Object Notation (JSON), Atom, binary formats such as PNG, JPEG, GIF, plain text, and proprietary formats are used to represent resources. Representational State Transfer (REST) provides the flexibility to represent a single resource in multiple formats.
Parameters are used to pass and add additional information to a request. You can use parameters as part of the URL or in the headers. Path parameters, matrix parameters, query parameters, header parameters, and cookie parameters are useful for passing in additional information to a request.
The product provides a Hello World sample that demonstrates a simple Representational State Transfer (REST) application using the IBM® Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) implementation.
The product provides a Guest book sample that demonstrates a simple Representational State Transfer (REST) application using the IBM Java API for RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS) implementation.