RESTx roadmap

RESTx roadmap

On this page we present the current, tentative roadmap for RESTx. Please note that the delivery schedule for some features may be adjusted depending on your feedback. We invite you to express your preference and even suggest new features in our RESTx forum. To create new posts you have to register, but that is quick and easy.

We are presenting here only an overview of the most important features. For all work that's scheduled for a particular release, please see our issue tracker.

Upcoming releases

0.9.6 "Spacy Pipelines"

Scheduled for: End of October 2010

  • Pipelines: Allow the definition of resource pipelines (output of one resource becomes input of another). This currently can be done easily in code, but with this new feature one can just send pipeline definitions to the server, which then creates new resources for those. Jira: RESTX-11, RESTX-26, RESTX-27
  • Namespaces: Currently, components and resource live under their respective, single top-level namespace. For finer grained access control and to allow better organization of available resources and components, it has to be possible to define additional namespaces. For example /resource/engineering/ and /resource/marketing. Jira: RESTX-8
  • XML content type: RESTx already can produce output in HTML or JSON. It's time to also support XML. Jira: RESTX-5
  • Additional command line tools: Tools to pack up components and/or resources, along with any required static or support files into an easily transportable archive. Jira: RESTX-32

0.9.8 "Shiny Params"

Scheduled for: End of November 2010

1.0.0 "WebbyGoodness"

Scheduled for: End of January 2011

  • Groovy component API: Support for this popular JVM scripting language. Jire: RESTX-25
  • PHP client library: A library allowing for easy interaction of PHP applications with the RESTx server. Jira: RESTX-23
  • Version control: For components and resources. Jira: RESTX-9
  • Full web caching support: Etags and other related headers, setting of caching policy, etc. Jira: RESTX-6

1.0.2 "Endurance"

Scheduled for: End of February 2011

  • Long running resources: Allowing kicking-off of longer running processes, which implement a particular resource. Jira: RESTX-12

 

Older releases

0.9.4 "Happy Clients"

Released: Beginning of September 2010

  • JavaScript client library: The RESTful resources provided by RESTx are ideally suited for consumption by rich JavaScript applications, mashups, etc. Jira: RESTX-22
  • Content types for sub-resource input: Currently, input POSTed or PUT to a sub resource (service method) is only interpreted and passed as a string. Service methods will be able to declare the content type allowing RESTx to perform necessary input conversion automatically. Jira: RESTX-3
  • Content types for sub-resource output: Currently, output of a sub resource (service method) is returned as JSON by default. Service methods will be able to declare the content type allowing RESTx to perform content negotiation with the client as well as all necessary output conversion automatically. Jira: RESTX-50
  • JavaScript for components: Allow components to be written in server-side JavaScript. Jira: RESTX-51

0.9.2 "Quick Fix"

Released: End of July 2010

  • Specialized components: Allow for the creation of partial resources and present those like an ordinary component, allowing users to only set some of the available parameters. Use case: IT staff creates a specialized DB access component in which username and password are specified once in the partial resource definition. Users can create fully working resources by now providing remaining parameters, such as query strings, but cannot override the username and password. Jira: RESTX-2
  • Additional command line tools: Tools to remove or disable an installed component. Jira: RESTX-4
  • Deployment behind proxy: By allowing deployment behind a proxy, it is possible to integrate RESTx into an existing web site, allowing JavaScript to communicate with RESTx. In addition, the front end proxy can take care of encryption and access control. Jira: RESTX-35
  • Allow creation of components in non-default locations: This makes it easier for developers to contribute their own components and to keep some separation between custom components and those that come with RESTx. Jira: RESTX-46
  • HTML form encoded data properly interpreted: Data submitted through an HTML form to be properly parsed. Makes it possible to even send parameter values that way. Jira: RESTX-47