Many Web applications today are starting to expose data as REST service interfaces, so it can be accessed through APIs by other tiers of the application or even by other applications. A RESTful web service is a simple Web service implemented using HTTP and the principles of REST. REST Services focus on resources; each one is represented by a unique URI, and users interact with them via their URI using the HTTP uniform interface. Existing applications can also benefit from exposing services with REST over HTTP, with an approach that does not require developers to re-architect the entire application. This Web Application Toolkit shows how to easily add REST service interfaces for an existing Web application. The Web Application Toolkit includes a sample of REST services based on a fictitious online auction site. It exposes an API using REST services built with the Windows Communication Foundation that can consumed by client applications. Two sample client applications are included, one using simple ASP.NET pages to consume the REST service and show a list of ending auctions, and a second Web application using AJAX to asynchronously invoke the REST service to show a list of most viewed auctions. The Web Application Toolkit also includes a custom project template for Visual Studio to make it easier to build new REST Services.
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