RSDL
(Web Service)
Tech
What is RSDL?
The RESTful Service Description Language (RSDL) is a machine- and human-readable XML description of HTTP-based web applications (typically REST web services). The language (defined by Michael Pasternak during his work on oVirt RESTful API) allows documenting the model of the resource(s) provided by a service, the relationships between them, and operations and the parameters that must be supplied for the operations. It specifies if parameters are mandated; and describes possible overloads as parameters sets. RSDL is intended to simplify the reuse of web services that are based on the HTTP architecture of the web. It is platform- and language-independent and aims to promote reuse of applications beyond the basic use in a web browser by both humans and machines. Unlike WADL, it concentrates on describing URIs as stand-alone entry points in to the application which can be invoked in different ways, does not requiretraversing over URI components to figure out URI structure, and supports URI/Headers/body parameters overloads. This makes it human-readable and easily consumed by both humans and machines.