Introspected REST: An Alternative to REST and GraphQL

In this manifesto, we will give a specific definition of what REST is, according to Roy, and see the majority of APIs and API specs (JSONAPI, HAL etc) fail to follow this model. We will see what problems a RESTful API brings and why API designers have been constantly avoiding using it but instead come up with half-way solutions or retreat to alternative models like RPC-over-HTTP or, lately, GraphQL. Then, we will propose a new model, Introspected REST, that solves the issues that REST creates and allows the design of progressively evolvable APIs, in a much simpler way than conventional REST.

As part of this manifesto we will also present the concept of MicroTypes, small reusable modules that compose a Media Type and facilitate the evolvability and extensibility of our new model. For the implementation of our new model in HTTP, we will have to go back in time, dig deep in existing RFCs and uncover forgotten concepts, like reactive content negotiation and Media Type parameters, in order to bend the existing Internet infrastructure, which has been mostly influenced by REST concepts, and successfully apply our new model.

Source: introspected.rest