Database.com REST API Developer's Guide - Salesforce.com

GETTING STARTED WITH THE DATABASE.COM REST APIChapter 1Introducing Force.com REST APIIn this chapter ...REST API provides a powerful, convenient, and simple Web services API forinteracting with Force.com. Its advantages include ease of integration and• Understanding Force.com RESTdevelopment, and it’s an excellent choice of technology for use with mobileResourcesapplications and Web 2.0 projects. However, if you have a large number of• Using Compression records to process, you may wish to use Bulk API, which is based on REST• Using cURL in the REST Examples principles and optimized for large sets of data.• Understanding AuthenticationREST API uses the same underlying data model and standard objects as thosein SOAP API. See the SOAP API Developer's Guide for details. REST APIalso follows the same limits as SOAP API. See the Limits section in the SOAPAPI Developer's Guide.To use this document, you should have a basic familiarity with softwaredevelopment, Web services, and the Database.com user interface.Use this introduction to understand:• The key characteristics and architecture of REST API. This will help youunderstand how your applications can best use the Force.com RESTresources.• How to set up your development environment so you can begin workingwith REST API immediately.• How to use REST API by following a quick start that leads you step bystep through a typical use case.1