implement RESTFUL webservice with php

Question

I need some better understanding on how to implement REST services with php

From what I have read sofar, they say "use logical adresses" and preferably don't use get variables at all.

What I don't see is how these url's are getting processed. Like www.somename.com/product and product is supposed to be not a physical address.

I mean, you do need some entry file that has the php processingcode that does the real work, don't I?

How does this work?

After that I can echo the data back between custom xml tags and the client app can parse this.That part I still remember from dealing with ajax. Only with REST you put all the resources(data or pieces off data) within a url.

So that takes me back to my original question. How are these logical url's being proccessed?? (within php that is)

Thanks, Richard

Answer 1

The basic answer is something that someone mentioned in the above comments: mod_rewrite. By configuring Apache to use mod_rewrite to route your web requests, you can have all resource requests go through a single entry point. Example:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule !\.(js|ico|gif|jpg|png|css|html|swf|mp3|wav)$ index.php [L]

That sends all requests for a non-static resource to index.php. index.php can then make a decision on what content to load, say by examining $_SERVER['SCRIPT_URI'] and parsing out the fact that the request might have been /animals/cat.

Many MVC frameworks embrace this concept and utilize this routing method as a way to load the controllers and views.