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POSeparate REST JSON API server and client?
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  1. POSeparate REST JSON API server and client?
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    copied!<p>I'm about to create a bunch of web apps from scratch. (See <a href="http://50pop.com/code" rel="noreferrer">http://50pop.com/code</a> for overview.) I'd like for them to be able to be accessed from many different clients: front-end websites, smartphone apps, backend webservices, etc. So I really want a JSON REST API for each one.</p> <p>Also, I prefer working on the back-end, so I daydream of me keeping my focus purely on the API, and hiring someone else to make the front-end UI, whether a website, iPhone, Android, or other app.</p> <p><strong>Please help me decide which approach I should take:</strong></p> <blockquote> <h3>TOGETHER IN RAILS</h3> <p>Make a very standard Rails web-app. In the controller, do the respond_with switch, to serve either JSON or HTML. The JSON response is then my API.</p> <p><strong>Pro:</strong> Lots of precedent. Great standards &amp; many examples of doing things this way.</p> <p><strong>Con:</strong> Don't necessarily want API to be same as web app. Don't like if/then respond_with switch approach. Mixing two very different things (UI + API).</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <h3>REST SERVER + JAVASCRIPT-HEAVY CLIENT</h3> <p>Make a JSON-only REST API server. Use Backbone or Ember.js for client-side JavaScript to access API directly, displaying templates in browser.</p> <p><strong>Pro:</strong> I love the separation of API &amp; client. Smart people say this is the way to go. Great in theory. Seems cutting-edge and exciting.</p> <p><strong>Con:</strong> Not much precedent. Not many examples of this done well. Public examples (twitter.com) feel sluggish &amp; are even switching away from this approach.</p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <h3>REST SERVER + SERVER-SIDE HTML CLIENT</h3> <p>Make a JSON-only REST API server. Make a basic HTML website client, that accesses the REST API only. Less client-side JavaScript.</p> <p><strong>Pro:</strong> I love the separation of API &amp; client. But serving plain HTML5 is quite foolproof &amp; not client-intensive.</p> <p><strong>Con:</strong> Not much precedent. Not many examples of this done well. Frameworks don't support this as well. Not sure how to approach it.</p> </blockquote> <p>Especially looking for advice from experience, not just in-theory.</p>
 

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