1 package Catalyst::Controller::REST;
3 use namespace::autoclean;
6 $VERSION = eval $VERSION;
10 Catalyst::Controller::REST - A RESTful controller
14 package Foo::Controller::Bar;
16 use namespace::autoclean;
18 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
20 sub thing : Local : ActionClass('REST') { }
22 # Answer GET requests to "thing"
24 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
26 # Return a 200 OK, with the data in entity
27 # serialized in the body
32 foo => 'is real bar-y',
37 # Answer PUT requests to "thing"
39 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
41 $radiohead = $c->req->data->{radiohead};
43 $self->status_created(
45 location => $c->req->uri->as_string,
47 radiohead => $radiohead,
54 Catalyst::Controller::REST implements a mechanism for building
55 RESTful services in Catalyst. It does this by extending the
56 normal Catalyst dispatch mechanism to allow for different
57 subroutines to be called based on the HTTP Method requested,
58 while also transparently handling all the serialization/deserialization for
61 This is probably best served by an example. In the above
62 controller, we have declared a Local Catalyst action on
63 "sub thing", and have used the ActionClass('REST').
65 Below, we have declared "thing_GET" and "thing_PUT". Any
66 GET requests to thing will be dispatched to "thing_GET",
67 while any PUT requests will be dispatched to "thing_PUT".
69 Any unimplemented HTTP methods will be met with a "405 Method Not Allowed"
70 response, automatically containing the proper list of available methods. You
71 can override this behavior through implementing a custom
72 C<thing_not_implemented> method.
74 If you do not provide an OPTIONS handler, we will respond to any OPTIONS
75 requests with a "200 OK", populating the Allowed header automatically.
77 Any data included in C<< $c->stash->{'rest'} >> will be serialized for you.
78 The serialization format will be selected based on the content-type
79 of the incoming request. It is probably easier to use the L<STATUS HELPERS>,
80 which are described below.
82 "The HTTP POST, PUT, and OPTIONS methods will all automatically
83 L<deserialize|Catalyst::Action::Deserialize> the contents of
84 C<< $c->request->body >> into the C<< $c->request->data >> hashref", based on
85 the request's C<Content-type> header. A list of understood serialization
86 formats is L<below|/AVAILABLE SERIALIZERS>.
88 If we do not have (or cannot run) a serializer for a given content-type, a 415
89 "Unsupported Media Type" error is generated.
91 To make your Controller RESTful, simply have it
93 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
97 See L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize/CONFIGURATION>. Note that the C<serialize>
98 key has been deprecated.
102 Catalyst::Controller::REST will automatically serialize your
103 responses, and deserialize any POST, PUT or OPTIONS requests. It evaluates
104 which serializer to use by mapping a content-type to a Serialization module.
105 We select the content-type based on:
109 =item B<The Content-Type Header>
111 If the incoming HTTP Request had a Content-Type header set, we will use it.
113 =item B<The content-type Query Parameter>
115 If this is a GET request, you can supply a content-type query parameter.
117 =item B<Evaluating the Accept Header>
119 Finally, if the client provided an Accept header, we will evaluate
120 it and use the best-ranked choice.
124 =head1 AVAILABLE SERIALIZERS
126 A given serialization mechanism is only available if you have the underlying
127 modules installed. For example, you can't use XML::Simple if it's not already
130 In addition, each serializer has its quirks in terms of what sorts of data
131 structures it will properly handle. L<Catalyst::Controller::REST> makes
132 no attempt to save you from yourself in this regard. :)
136 =item * C<text/x-yaml> => C<YAML::Syck>
138 Returns YAML generated by L<YAML::Syck>.
140 =item * C<text/html> => C<YAML::HTML>
142 This uses L<YAML::Syck> and L<URI::Find> to generate YAML with all URLs turned
143 to hyperlinks. Only usable for Serialization.
145 =item * C<application/json> => C<JSON>
147 Uses L<JSON> to generate JSON output. It is strongly advised to also have
148 L<JSON::XS> installed. The C<text/x-json> content type is supported but is
149 deprecated and you will receive warnings in your log.
151 You can also add a hash in your controller config to pass options to the json object.
152 For instance, to relax permissions when deserializing input, add:
154 json_options => { relaxed => 1 }
157 =item * C<text/javascript> => C<JSONP>
159 If a callback=? parameter is passed, this returns javascript in the form of: $callback($serializedJSON);
161 Note - this is disabled by default as it can be a security risk if you are unaware.
163 The usual MIME types for this serialization format are: 'text/javascript', 'application/x-javascript',
164 'application/javascript'.
166 =item * C<text/x-data-dumper> => C<Data::Serializer>
168 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Dumper> output.
170 =item * C<text/x-data-denter> => C<Data::Serializer>
172 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Denter> output.
174 =item * C<text/x-data-taxi> => C<Data::Serializer>
176 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Taxi> output.
178 =item * C<application/x-storable> => C<Data::Serializer>
180 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Storable> output.
182 =item * C<application/x-freezethaw> => C<Data::Serializer>
184 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<FreezeThaw> output.
186 =item * C<text/x-config-general> => C<Data::Serializer>
188 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Config::General> output.
190 =item * C<text/x-php-serialization> => C<Data::Serializer>
192 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<PHP::Serialization> output.
194 =item * C<text/xml> => C<XML::Simple>
196 Uses L<XML::Simple> to generate XML output. This is probably not suitable
197 for any real heavy XML work. Due to L<XML::Simple>s requirement that the data
198 you serialize be a HASHREF, we transform outgoing data to be in the form of:
200 { data => $yourdata }
204 Uses a regular Catalyst view. For example, if you wanted to have your
205 C<text/html> and C<text/xml> views rendered by TT, set:
209 'text/html' => [ 'View', 'TT' ],
210 'text/xml' => [ 'View', 'XML' ],
214 Your views should have a C<process> method like this:
217 my ( $self, $c, $stash_key ) = @_;
221 $output = $self->serialize( $c->stash->{$stash_key} );
225 $c->response->body( $output );
226 return 1; # important
230 my ( $self, $data ) = @_;
232 my $serialized = ... process $data here ...
239 By default, L<Catalyst::Controller::REST> will return a
240 C<415 Unsupported Media Type> response if an attempt to use an unsupported
241 content-type is made. You can ensure that something is always returned by
242 setting the C<default> config option:
244 __PACKAGE__->config(default => 'text/x-yaml');
246 would make it always fall back to the serializer plugin defined for
249 =head1 CUSTOM SERIALIZERS
251 Implementing new Serialization formats is easy! Contributions
252 are most welcome! If you would like to implement a custom serializer,
253 you should create two new modules in the L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>
254 and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize> namespace. Then assign your new
255 class to the content-type's you want, and you're done.
257 See L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize> and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>
258 for more information.
260 =head1 STATUS HELPERS
262 Since so much of REST is in using HTTP, we provide these Status Helpers.
263 Using them will ensure that you are responding with the proper codes,
264 headers, and entities.
266 These helpers try and conform to the HTTP 1.1 Specification. You can
267 refer to it at: L<http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.txt>.
268 These routines are all implemented as regular subroutines, and as
269 such require you pass the current context ($c) as the first argument.
275 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller' }
276 use Params::Validate qw(SCALAR OBJECT);
278 __PACKAGE__->mk_accessors(qw(serialize));
281 'stash_key' => 'rest',
283 'text/html' => 'YAML::HTML',
284 'text/xml' => 'XML::Simple',
285 'text/x-yaml' => 'YAML',
286 'application/json' => 'JSON',
287 'text/x-json' => 'JSON',
288 'text/x-data-dumper' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Dumper' ],
289 'text/x-data-denter' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Denter' ],
290 'text/x-data-taxi' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Taxi' ],
291 'application/x-storable' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Storable' ],
292 'application/x-freezethaw' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'FreezeThaw' ],
293 'text/x-config-general' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Config::General' ],
294 'text/x-php-serialization' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'PHP::Serialization' ],
298 sub begin : ActionClass('Deserialize') { }
300 sub end : ActionClass('Serialize') { }
304 Returns a "200 OK" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize.
311 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
320 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { entity => 1, }, );
322 $c->response->status(200);
323 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
329 Returns a "201 CREATED" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize,
330 and a "location" where the created object can be found.
334 $self->status_created(
336 location => $c->req->uri->as_string,
338 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
342 In the above example, we use the requested URI as our location.
343 This is probably what you want for most PUT requests.
350 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
353 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT },
354 entity => { optional => 1 },
359 if ( ref( $p{'location'} ) ) {
360 $location = $p{'location'}->as_string;
362 $location = $p{'location'};
364 $c->response->status(201);
365 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $location );
366 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
370 =item status_accepted
372 Returns a "202 ACCEPTED" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize.
376 $self->status_accepted(
385 sub status_accepted {
388 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { entity => 1, }, );
390 $c->response->status(202);
391 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
395 =item status_no_content
397 Returns a "204 NO CONTENT" response.
401 sub status_no_content {
404 $c->response->status(204);
405 $self->_set_entity( $c, undef );
409 =item status_multiple_choices
411 Returns a "300 MULTIPLE CHOICES" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize, which should
412 provide list of possible locations. Also takes optional "location" for preferred choice.
416 sub status_multiple_choices {
419 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
423 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT, optional => 1 },
428 if ( ref( $p{'location'} ) ) {
429 $location = $p{'location'}->as_string;
431 $location = $p{'location'};
433 $c->response->status(300);
434 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $location ) if exists $p{'location'};
435 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
439 =item status_bad_request
441 Returns a "400 BAD REQUEST" response. Takes a "message" argument
442 as a scalar, which will become the value of "error" in the serialized
447 $self->status_bad_request(
449 message => "Cannot do what you have asked!",
454 sub status_bad_request {
457 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
459 $c->response->status(400);
460 $c->log->debug( "Status Bad Request: " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
461 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
465 =item status_not_found
467 Returns a "404 NOT FOUND" response. Takes a "message" argument
468 as a scalar, which will become the value of "error" in the serialized
473 $self->status_not_found(
475 message => "Cannot find what you were looking for!",
480 sub status_not_found {
483 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
485 $c->response->status(404);
486 $c->log->debug( "Status Not Found: " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
487 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
493 Returns a "41O GONE" response. Takes a "message" argument as a scalar,
494 which will become the value of "error" in the serialized response.
500 message => "The document have been deleted by foo",
508 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
510 $c->response->status(410);
511 $c->log->debug( "Status Gone " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
512 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
520 if ( defined($entity) ) {
521 $c->stash->{ $self->{'stash_key'} } = $entity;
528 =head1 MANUAL RESPONSES
530 If you want to construct your responses yourself, all you need to
531 do is put the object you want serialized in $c->stash->{'rest'}.
533 =head1 IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
535 This Controller ties together L<Catalyst::Action::REST>,
536 L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize> and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>. It should be suitable for most applications. You should be aware that it:
540 =item Configures the Serialization Actions
542 This class provides a default configuration for Serialization. It is currently:
545 'stash_key' => 'rest',
547 'text/html' => 'YAML::HTML',
548 'text/xml' => 'XML::Simple',
549 'text/x-yaml' => 'YAML',
550 'application/json' => 'JSON',
551 'text/x-json' => 'JSON',
552 'text/x-data-dumper' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Dumper' ],
553 'text/x-data-denter' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Denter' ],
554 'text/x-data-taxi' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Taxi' ],
555 'application/x-storable' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Storable' ],
556 'application/x-freezethaw' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'FreezeThaw' ],
557 'text/x-config-general' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Config::General' ],
558 'text/x-php-serialization' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'PHP::Serialization' ],
562 You can read the full set of options for this configuration block in
563 L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>.
565 =item Sets a C<begin> and C<end> method for you
567 The C<begin> method uses L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>. The C<end>
568 method uses L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>. If you want to override
569 either behavior, simply implement your own C<begin> and C<end> actions
570 and forward to another action with the Serialize and/or Deserialize
573 package Foo::Controller::Monkey;
575 use namespace::autoclean;
577 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
579 sub begin : Private {
581 ... do things before Deserializing ...
582 $c->forward('deserialize');
583 ... do things after Deserializing ...
586 sub deserialize : ActionClass('Deserialize') {}
590 ... do things before Serializing ...
591 $c->forward('serialize');
592 ... do things after Serializing ...
595 sub serialize : ActionClass('Serialize') {}
597 If you need to deserialize multipart requests (i.e. REST data in
598 one part and file uploads in others) you can do so by using the
599 L<Catalyst::Action::DeserializeMultiPart> action class.
603 =head1 A MILD WARNING
605 I have code in production using L<Catalyst::Controller::REST>. That said,
606 it is still under development, and it's possible that things may change
607 between releases. I promise to not break things unnecessarily. :)
611 L<Catalyst::Action::REST>, L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>,
612 L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>
614 For help with REST in general:
616 The HTTP 1.1 Spec is required reading. http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.txt
618 Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer
620 The REST Wiki: http://rest.blueoxen.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?FrontPage
624 See L<Catalyst::Action::REST> for authors.
628 You may distribute this code under the same terms as Perl itself.
632 __PACKAGE__->meta->make_immutable;