It is simply impossible to adequately describe REST in this document. There is an expectation that the reader will be somewhat familiar with the concepts that REST encompasses. There are many good online resources but there are just as many that fail to explore the full benefits of REST. In these cases, the resources favor a practical approach toward REST assuming that implementing a fully RESTful paradigm might be too difficult and therefore becomes a barrier for implementation. The Richardson Maturity Model is a nice article that helps explain REST in an easy to read format and offers a stepping-stone approach toward full REST implementation.
The SRP HTTP Framework is designed around the REST API model but it does not enforce it. Indeed, it can nicely work with any API methodology and replace the standard RUN_OECGI_REQUEST/INET tools (although some additional work would need to be done to replace pre-built INET routines.)
Whether or not implementing a comprehensive REST API is feasible, developers are strongly encouraged to consider some type of REST design in their web applications for two reasons: 1.) REST is arguably a formalized explanation of the way the internet (via HTTP) is meant to be used. It lays out the principles by which the internet has become so robust, scalable, and accessible. 2.) While REST has been documented for quite some time, there seems to be a significant resurgence of interest in this architecture from small and large online service providers. This is hugely beneficial to the OpenInsight developer because it taps into a reputable and credible methodology that obscures the underlying technology (i.e., Basic+, Linear Hash) that is often a barrier to mainstream acceptance.
