Content Negotiation for REST APIs

on YouTube ↗26m

" summary

Argues that REST APIs should serve resources, not file-encoded representations, by using built-in HTTP content negotiation so the same URI can return PNG, SVG, video, or JSON based on client capability. Shows concrete tools: Accept header, the q (quality) parameter to rank formats, and Accept-Language for locales. Cites real changes (Travis CI serving SVG at old .png URLs), notes formats keep appearing (webp, webm, GIFV) and that SoundCloud handles massive uploads (~12 hours of audio per minute).

AI-written summary · about

" chapters (8)

1. 0:00Introduction
2. 1:38The shift from SOAP to REST
3. 4:10Why REST is superior
4. 6:52The problem with extensions
5. 8:51Content negotiation headers
6. 14:03Practical content negotiation
7. 17:41Evolving APIs over time
8. 24:01Conclusion

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