1. OKEC REST APIREST API for Knowledge Management with the Redwood User Experience
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  3. REST Resource Types

REST Resource Types

Let's discuss the two types of REST resources: a single entity, known as a singular resource, and a combined list of items, known as a collection resource.

Singular Resources

A singular resource represents a single entity, such as an article.

It includes a links property that supports HATEOAS, which is an important constraint of the resources. This property is used to define links to related resources. The following table describes the properties of a link object.

Property Description

rel
Defines the relationship to the target resource. Types of links include:
  • rel="self": Identifies the link context in the response.
  • rel="canonical": Provides the preferred version of the resource URL.

href

A URL for accessing the resource.

Collection Resources

A collection resource represents a list of items, such as a list of articles. A collection resource can:

  • Extend a singular resource using the links property.
  • Support requests in parts so that you can implement a paginated response. The client can get a part of the collection in one request, followed by multiple subsequent requests for the next or previous part. To support this navigation, the links section can include links to the previous page and next page.
  • Function either as a root resource or a subresource.
  • Include an array of singular resources of the same type.
  • Allow the client to use the orderBy command to specify an order for the items returned. Otherwise, the order can't be determined.

The following table lists querying and paging parameters for a collection resource.

Parameter Description

items

An array of items in the collection. Each item is a singular resource.

hasMore
A Boolean value that indicates whether there are more items to be retrieved. Valid values:
  • True - more values to retrieve.
  • False- no more values to retrieve.

limit

An integer value that specifies the paging size that the server uses for a client request. The default value is 20. The server might override this value to improve application performance.

count

An integer value the specifies the number of items in the paging response. This value matches the value in the items parameter.

offset

An integer value that specifies the index of the first item to be returned. The default value is 0.

For example:

  • If offset=0, the response contains all the items, starting from the first item in the collection.
  • If offset=10 and count=20, the response contains resources from 11 to 30.