[OSGeo-Standards] [OSGeo-Discuss] "Geoservices REST API" story is being discussed on slashdot

[Baumann, Peter]

Hi all,
FWIW, getting back a REST discussion to this list
cheers,
Peter


--
Dr. Peter Baumann- Professor of Computer Science, Jacobs University Bremen
  http://www.faculty.jacobs-university.de/pbaumann
  mail: p.baumann at jacobs-university.detel: +49-421-200-3178, fax: +49-421-200-493178
- Executive Director, rasdaman GmbH Bremen (HRB 26793)http://www.rasdaman.com,
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________________________________
From: Baumann, Peter
Sent: Friday, June 07, 2013 11:01 AM
To: xavier lhomme
Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Standards] [OSGeo-Discuss] "Geoservices REST API" story is being discussed on slashdot

a matter of taste indeed :) - this is why we offer GET, POX, SOAP, REST, and maybe JSON in future, too.
-Peter



--
Dr. Peter Baumann- Professor of Computer Science, Jacobs University Bremen
  http://www.faculty.jacobs-university.de/pbaumann
  mail: p.baumann at jacobs-university.detel: +49-421-200-3178, fax: +49-421-200-493178
- Executive Director, rasdaman GmbH Bremen (HRB 26793)http://www.rasdaman.com,
  mail: baumann at rasdaman.com
  tel: 0800-rasdaman, fax: 0800-rasdafax, mobile: +49-173-5837882
"Si forte in alienas manus oberraverit hec peregrina epistola incertis ventis dimissa, sed Deo commendata, precamur ut ei reddatur cui soli destinata, nec preripiat quisquam non sibi parata." (mail disclaimer, AD 1083)




________________________________
From: xavier lhomme [lhomme.xavier at gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 5:30 PM
To: Baumann, Peter
Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Standards] [OSGeo-Discuss] "Geoservices REST API" story is being discussed on slashdot

Thanks
 I've a better understanding. The REST API from ESRI is then much more [GET/POST]/KVP than a RESTfull specification then.
 My appologies but I think it's easyer to use KVP than the Accept-Header ...
 or something like  bbox=10,10,11,11  than something like subset(lon(10:11))/subset(lat(10:11))/ ...

xl


2013/6/6 Baumann, Peter <p.baumann at jacobs-university.de<mailto:p.baumann at jacobs-university.de>>
Hi Xavier,

sorry for not adding this immediately, this was just a quick reaction from the middle of a conference.

For an example of RESTful W*S interfaces, there is RESTful WCS:
http://external.opengeospatial.org/twiki_public/CoveragesDWG/WcsRest
...but see also WMTS, etc.

As you prefer URLs, that is supported by all W*Ss pretty much since their inception, by way of GET/KVP. Now you may respond that you prefer REST, which is a special way of using URLs indeed.
In this case I contend: where is the "GeoServices REST API" really RESTful? See their spec:
http://example.com/rest/services/MyImage/ImageServer?f=json

REST would not use a query parameter, but the Accept-Header for specifying the response format, and this is used in RESTful WCS in its full power (see link above for an example).

There are more concerns about technical maturity, and others have done more comprehensive investigations than me. Maybe the list can chime in...

cheers,
Peter





________________________________
From: xavier lhomme [lhomme.xavier at gmail.com<mailto:lhomme.xavier at gmail.com>]
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 11:17 AM
To: Baumann, Peter

Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Standards] [OSGeo-Discuss] "Geoservices REST API" story is being discussed on slashdot

Hi peter

 I probably do not understand some technical point. If you add some link to help me understand, I  appreciate.

 I worked on a translator from MapService/Query to WFS and sorry but it's for me easier to understant URL and response  from a MapService than from a WFS.


2013/6/6 Baumann, Peter <p.baumann at jacobs-university.de<mailto:p.baumann at jacobs-university.de>>
I tend to disagree.
The ESRI specification is technologically lagging behind about 10 years.
Imposing it on the open standards community would have been a major step back.

cheers,
Peter

________________________________
From: standards-bounces at lists.osgeo.org<mailto:standards-bounces at lists.osgeo.org> [standards-bounces at lists.osgeo.org<mailto:standards-bounces at lists.osgeo.org>] on behalf of xavier lhomme [lhomme.xavier at gmail.com<mailto:lhomme.xavier at gmail.com>]
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 10:51 AM
To: Seven (aka Arnulf)
Cc: OSGeo Discussions; Standards, (OSGeo)

Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Standards] [OSGeo-Discuss] "Geoservices REST API" story is being discussed on slashdot


I do not really understand why this sling came from OSGeo. Indeed, OSGeo includes many talents who have expressed their arguments. But among these good arguments, came to add a political position with the main argument, the ESRI dominant position against other industrial players. I wondered if some members have not expressed through OSGeo to defend their own business, or as we saw later to take more power to the OGC.


If MapServer and GeoServer implement the GeoRest Services (with possibly a GeoJSON output too), many companies would have benefited. Today MapServer and GeoServer implements their own REST API and OSM already has already one. The OGC stays with their own Web Services specification  not really used  (unless  WMS) , difficult to understand and with implementations not always complete. Finally, I am afraid that everyone loses, the OGC who are losing influence, an increase of protocols, a decrease of system interoperability.

xl


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