This document discusses implementing RESTful APIs in Drupal 7 and 8. It covers what REST is, common formats and verbs used in REST APIs, status codes, and headers. It then provides information on how to implement a REST client by testing an API, making requests, handling responses, and writing tests. Examples are given using the Chargify API and Guzzle PHP library. Implementing Drupal as a RESTful service is also covered, discussing options in Drupal 7 like Services and Services Entity API modules, as well as the native REST support in Drupal 8. The document concludes with a call for questions and thanks the audience.

1. RESTful development in
Drupal 7/8
Johannes Schmidt
twitter: _johannez
drupal: user/670988
github: johannez

2. Implement a REST client
Drupal as a RESTful service
R
E
S
T
I
n
P
e
a
c
e
mugley via Compfight CC
What is REST?

3. What is REST?
• REpresentational State Transfer
• Resources
• Collections

4. Formats
JSON
XML

5. Formats
HAL+JSON
http://stateless.co/hal_specification.html

6. Verbs
• GET
• POST
• PUT / PATCH
• DELETE

7. Status codes
• 200 OK
• 201 Created
• 204 No content
• 400 Bad Request
• 403 Access Denied
• 404 Not Found

8. Headers
• Accept
• Content Type
• Authorization (Basic, OAuth)

9. Do you want to learn
more?
Lorna Mitchell - REST for Web Developers
https://portland2013.drupal.org/node/1358
List of all Status Codes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_status_codes

10. Implement a REST client
• Test the 3rd party REST API
• Make a request
• Handle responses
• Write tests!

11. Example: Chargify API
• Chargify.com
• Module: https://drupal.org/project/
chargify_api
• Package: https://github.com/johannez/
chargify

12. Test the API
Command line
Browser Tools
curl -u api-key:x https://subdomain.chargify.com/customers.xml

13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqlYsTiqqQQ

14. Make a request
• drupal_http_request()
• curl()
• Guzzle PHP (http://guzzlephp.org)

15. Guzzle PHP example

16. Handle responses
• Make sure exceptions are caught and
logged
• Convert the raw JSON data into resource
objects

18. Write Tests!
• Drupal 7: DrupalWebTestCase
• Drupal 8: PHP Unit test framework
• One test for each function/request
• Test Driven Development (TDD)
https://github.com/daylerees/test-driven-
development-example

19. Keep in mind...
• Don’t reinvent the wheel (packagist.org,
github)
• Use Composer (http://getcomposer.org)
• PSR-0 Standard
https://github.com/php-fig/fig-standards/blob/
master/accepted/PSR-0.md

20. Drupal as RESTful service
REST + = ?

21. Drupal 7 - Services
• http://drupal.org/project/services
• Well established, lots of support modules
• Uses endpoints instead of resource paths
• Supports RPC and SOAP
• Only supports Drupal core entities
• Complex configuration options

22. Drupal 7 - Services Entity API
• http://drupal.org/project/services_entity
• Supports all entities through Entity API
• Configurable endpoints

23. Drupal 7 - RESTWS
• http://drupal.org/project/restws
• Uses Entity API
• No endpoints
• No configuration
• Cookie and Basic Auth
• Best candidate for RESTful service

24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJQnDZCbUHk

25. Drupal 8
• Proper RESTful service in core
• HAL + JSON
• Cookie, Basic Auth (OAuth)
• Still in development.

26. Setup
• Enable RESTful service and HAL module
• Define settings throughYAML
https://drupal.org/documentation/modules/rest

27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJQQ9g7_GfA

28. Questions?

29. Thank you.
Let’s go and have a beer!