the big mistake w/ HTTP frameworks

2009-12-04 @ 19:05#

Web frameworks (HTTP, REST, Web, etc.) all seem to make the same mistake.

they use some 'familiar' coding paradigm to hide the HTTP application protocol.

dumb!

the best coding libraries aimed at creating web applications embrace and support the HTTP application protocol, not bury it.

proper HTTP libraries expose the following as first-order programming objects:

  • URIs
  • Resources
  • Representations
  • Message Body
  • Control Data

other primary concepts that deserve direct, top-level support are:

  • Media-Types
  • User-Agents
  • Caching
  • Authentication

libraries that allow programmers direct access to these items provide all the necessary control for building highly scalable, HTTP-compliant solutions.

all attempts to re-cast the HTTP application protocol as a transport for some other paradigm (yes, i'm talking to you MVC, SOAP and RPC, among others) is a waste of valuable time and a ticket to disappointment when rolling out applications that must run over HTTP and scale to the thousands.

if you're just building simple apps for a small group, fine. but if you're serious about the HTTP protocol, use a library that is serious about it, too.

code