IDG Contributor Network: The real value of REST: Making the leap
One of the more reviled, misunderstood software architectures today, REST can turn a simple problem into a complicated mess. The fault lies not in the architecture itself, instead where and how it is applied. As REST at its core is simply a description of the architecture of the web, its ultimate merit can be seen seeing how far the Web has scaled through its explosive growth.
Like many new ideas or concepts, it takes many iterations of applying that concept in a variety of areas and scenarios before its true areas of applicability emerge. In the first wave of enthusiasm, developers focused on simply escaping the complication of SOAP-based Web services in favor for lighter frameworks and protocols. Today, most Web services labeled "RESTful" do not follow the constraints laid out by the original definition of REST, but the term has become so widely used to describe generic Web services that its original term has lost all meaning.
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