Intelligent REST Client Webpage for Automated API Request Generation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Manually generating REST requests is inefficient due to the need for users to know server resources, instance identifiers, properties, and parameters, which requires consulting server or API documentation, leading to time-consuming processes.

Innovation Solution

An intelligent REST client webpage is served to the client computer, which automatically sends queries to the server to obtain resource information, enabling auto-completion of URLs, auto-generation of request bodies, and syntax-checking of REST requests, thereby simplifying the generation of REST requests.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If manual entry of REST request information is used at API console or browser plugin, then users can generate REST requests, but it requires significant time and effort to obtain and enter resource types, instance identifiers, properties, operations, and parameters from server or API documentation

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveREST request generation efficiencyVSAvoidTime to obtain and enter request information

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The REST client webpage automatically queries the server for resource information, instance identifiers, properties, operations, and parameters without requiring users to manually consult API documentation. The system serves itself by autonomously gathering the necessary metadata through automated queries and populating the request generation interface.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary queries to obtain resource types, instance identifiers, properties, operations, and parameters before the user needs to generate a REST request. By pre-fetching and caching this metadata, the system eliminates the time-consuming step of manually looking up information during request generation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Ease of operation

If manual entry of REST request information is used, then users can generate requests, but the process is inefficient and time-consuming

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveEase of REST request generationVSAvoidTime expenditure for request generation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The REST client webpage acts as an intermediary between the user and the server, automatically managing the complex process of obtaining metadata and generating requests. Users interact with a simplified interface while the intermediary handles the time-consuming background tasks of querying and data assembly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Productivity

If auto-completion and auto-generation features are implemented, then REST request generation becomes more efficient, but the client must automatically query the server to obtain resource information

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveREST request generation speedVSAvoidComplexity of automated query system

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The REST client webpage implements a universal query mechanism that can automatically obtain all types of resource information (resource types, instance identifiers, properties, operations, parameters) through a standardized interface. This multi-functional approach consolidates multiple information-gathering operations into a single automated system, reducing overall complexity despite the enhanced capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS10761685B2Intelligent REST client for operating a data storage system

Publication Date: 2020.09.01 EMC IP HLDG CO LLC

AI summary

Improved systems, methods, and techniques for generating representational state transfer (REST) requests from a client computer to a server computer. The disclosed techniques employ a REST application programming interface (also referred to as the “RESTful API”) for use in receiving the REST requests at the server computer from the client computer, and providing REST responses from the server computer to the client computer. The disclosed techniques further employ an intelligent REST client configured as a webpage (also referred to as the “intelligent REST client webpage”) that can be accessed by a browser running on the client computer, and transmitted or otherwise served by the server computer for display on the browser of the client computer. The intelligent REST client webpage may be employed by a user of the client computer for efficiently interacting with the RESTful API of the server computer.