RESTful .NET: Build and Consume RESTful Web Services with .NET 3.5 (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: syndication feed, web programming model, workflow services, Visual Studio, Services Using, Read Line (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

RESTful .NET is the first book that teaches Windows developers to build RESTful web services using the latest Microsoft tools. Written by Windows Communication Foundation (WFe expert Jon Flanders, this hands-on tutorial demonstrates how you can use WCF and other components of the .NET 3.5 Framework to build, deploy and use REST-based web services in a variety of application scenarios. RESTful architecture offers a simpler approach to building web services than SOAP, SOA, and the cumbersome WS-* stack. And WCF has proven to be a flexible technology for building distributed systems not necessarily tied to WS-* standards. RESTful .NET provides you with a complete guide to the WCF REST programming model for building web services consumed either by machines or humans. You'll learn how to: Program Read-Only (GET) services Program READ/WRITE services Host REST services Program REST feeds Program AJAX REST clients Secure REST endpoints Use workflow to deliver REST services Consume RESTful XML services using WCF Work with HTTP Work with ADO.NET Data Services (Astoria)

RESTful .NET introduces you to the ideas of REST and RESTful architecture, and includes a detailed discussion of how the Web/REST model plugs into the WCF architecture. If you develop with .NET, it's time to jump on the RESTful bandwagon. This book explains how. "While REST is simple, WCF is not. To really understand and exploit this part of WCF requires a knowledgeable and experienced guide. I don't know anybody who's better suited for this role than Jon Flanders. ...Jon is first-rate at explaining complicated things. This book is the best introduction I've seen to creating and using these services with WCF." --David Chappell, Chappell & Associates

About the Author

Flanders is most at home spelunking, trying to figure out exactly how .NET works.

Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; illustrated edition edition (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596519206
• ISBN-13: 978-0596519209
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,386 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, clear and lean, January 24, 2009

By	Aspi Havewala (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are two things I really liked about Flanders' book:

(1) It has a gradual progression from concept to implementation that is both easy to read and very structured. It made the whole book very valuable. The initial section on REST is concise and either enlightening or revision, depending on what you already know. The transition to WCF programming is just as smooth.

(2) It zeroes in on the essentials and provides very lean tutorials on the meat of implementing RESTful services. This is key because WCF as a technology is fairly dense and sprawling. Flanders starts with a quick tutorial of non-SOAP based web programming using WCF. And he covers both server side API implementation and client side consumption of the same.

RESTful .NET's biggest strength is that it is concise, clear and lean. To that point, you need the basics of HTTP, SOAP, WCF, XML, C# and (briefly) ASP in place.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!, January 17, 2009

By	John R. Vacca "Tech Write Independent Reviewer" (Pomeroy, Ohio) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Do you want to learn about how to use the REST programming model in WCF 3.5? If you do, then this book is for you! Author Jon Flanders, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is designed for .NET developers who are familiar with WCF and REST.

Jon Flanders, begins by introducing the basic concepts of REST. Next, the author introduces the WCF channel and programming models. Then, he introduces you to the WebGetAttribute, which is the mechanism for building resources that return read-only representations. He continues by examining the special considerations for hosting this type of endpoint. Next, the author shows you how to build and consume feeds using the WCF feed programming model. Then, he examines WCF 3.5's ability to return data as XML- or JSON-encoded results, as well as the integration between WCF and ASP.NET Ajax. The author continues by examining the WCF settings for enabling security and for creating an endpoint that is highly secure. Next, he focuses on both stateless and stateful workflow models for implementing RESTful services. He continues by taking a look at Restful service, SQL Server Data Services, and decompose it into a WCF service contract that can invoke the service through the WCF programming model. Finally, the author looks at a couple of slightly more advanced HTTP features and how to use them with your RESTful services in WCF.

This most excellent book will help you learn the ways of REST. More importantly, it will show you how to apply them when developing applications and services using .NET and WCF.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Using REST and .NET? A must read then!, January 2, 2009

By	Stephen Forte (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jon walks you through all the necessary steps in using REST with .NET, starting with the why, then the how. This is a soup to nuts guide, with coverage of Astoria and raw XML processing via HTTP.
I really enjoyed the chapter on Securing REST endpoints, I was struggling with this before I read the book. There is also a chapter on WF and REST that opened my eyes. I learned a lot in this well written book.