What is REST (in simple English)

Posted by Gaurav on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by Gaurav
Published on 2010-12-05T10:38:00Z Indexed on 2012/10/20 17:13 UTC
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web-development

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architecture

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web-framework

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rest

Lately I have become interested in familiarizing myself with REST. I tried reading wiki entry on REST, but it was of no help. I would really appreciate it if someone can explain in simple English (that is without unnecessary tech jargon)

What is REST
What position it occupies in web architecture ecosystem
How tightly (or loosely) it is coupled with protocol.
What are the alternatives to REST and how does REST compare with them.

I understand it may not be possible to answer this in one or two paragraphs, in that case relevant links will be highly appreciated.

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