Editing REST (section)

== Architectural properties ==
The REST architectural style is designed for network-based applications, specifically client-server applications. But more than that, it is designed for Internet-scale usage, so the coupling between the ''user agent'' (client) and the ''origin server'' must be as [[Loose coupling|loose]] as possible to facilitate large-scale adoption.

The strong decoupling of client and server together with the text-based transfer of information using a uniform addressing protocol provided the basis for meeting the requirements of the Web: [[extensibility]], anarchic scalability<ref>{{cite thesis|title=Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures|chapter=Chapter 4: Designing the Web Architecture: Problems and Insights|year=2000|publisher=University of California, Irvine|chapter-url=https://ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/web_arch_domain.htm|first=Roy Thomas|last=Fielding|type=Ph.D.|access-date=2025-01-28|url-status=live}}</ref> and independent deployment of components, large-grain data transfer, and a low entry-barrier for content readers, content authors and developers.

[[File:REST information model.svg|centre|900px|thumb|An [[entity–relationship model]] of the concepts expressed in the REST architectural style]]

The constraints of the REST architectural style affect the following architectural properties:<ref name="Fielding-Ch5" /><ref name="SOA with REST" />

* Performance in component interactions, which can be the dominant factor in user-perceived performance and network efficiency;<ref name="Fielding-Ch2">{{cite thesis|title=Architectural Styles and the Design of Network-based Software Architectures|chapter=Chapter 2: Network-based Application Architectures|year=2000|publisher=University of California, Irvine|chapter-url=http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/net_app_arch.htm|first=Roy Thomas|last=Fielding|type=Ph.D.|access-date=2014-04-12|archive-date=2014-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216114322/http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/net_app_arch.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Scalability]] allowing the support of large numbers of components and interactions among components;
* Simplicity of a uniform interface;
* Modifiability of components to meet changing needs (even while the application is running);
* Visibility of communication between components by service agents;
* Portability of components by moving program code with the data;
* Reliability in the resistance to failure at the system level in the presence of failures within components, connectors, or data.<ref name="Fielding-Ch2"/>