1 package Catalyst::Controller::REST;
4 use namespace::autoclean;
8 Catalyst::Controller::REST - A RESTful controller
12 package Foo::Controller::Bar;
14 use namespace::autoclean;
16 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
18 sub thing : Local : ActionClass('REST') { }
20 # Answer GET requests to "thing"
22 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
24 # Return a 200 OK, with the data in entity
25 # serialized in the body
30 foo => 'is real bar-y',
35 # Answer PUT requests to "thing"
37 my ( $self, $c ) = @_;
39 $radiohead = $c->req->data->{radiohead};
41 $self->status_created(
43 location => $c->req->uri,
45 radiohead => $radiohead,
52 Catalyst::Controller::REST implements a mechanism for building
53 RESTful services in Catalyst. It does this by extending the
54 normal Catalyst dispatch mechanism to allow for different
55 subroutines to be called based on the HTTP Method requested,
56 while also transparently handling all the serialization/deserialization for
59 This is probably best served by an example. In the above
60 controller, we have declared a Local Catalyst action on
61 "sub thing", and have used the ActionClass('REST').
63 Below, we have declared "thing_GET" and "thing_PUT". Any
64 GET requests to thing will be dispatched to "thing_GET",
65 while any PUT requests will be dispatched to "thing_PUT".
67 Any unimplemented HTTP methods will be met with a "405 Method Not Allowed"
68 response, automatically containing the proper list of available methods. You
69 can override this behavior through implementing a custom
70 C<thing_not_implemented> method.
72 If you do not provide an OPTIONS handler, we will respond to any OPTIONS
73 requests with a "200 OK", populating the Allowed header automatically.
75 Any data included in C<< $c->stash->{'rest'} >> will be serialized for you.
76 The serialization format will be selected based on the content-type
77 of the incoming request. It is probably easier to use the L<STATUS HELPERS>,
78 which are described below.
80 "The HTTP POST, PUT, and OPTIONS methods will all automatically
81 L<deserialize|Catalyst::Action::Deserialize> the contents of
82 C<< $c->request->body >> into the C<< $c->request->data >> hashref", based on
83 the request's C<Content-type> header. A list of understood serialization
84 formats is L<below|/AVAILABLE SERIALIZERS>.
86 If we do not have (or cannot run) a serializer for a given content-type, a 415
87 "Unsupported Media Type" error is generated.
89 To make your Controller RESTful, simply have it
91 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
95 See L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize/CONFIGURATION>. Note that the C<serialize>
96 key has been deprecated.
100 Catalyst::Controller::REST will automatically serialize your
101 responses, and deserialize any POST, PUT or OPTIONS requests. It evaluates
102 which serializer to use by mapping a content-type to a Serialization module.
103 We select the content-type based on:
107 =item B<The Content-Type Header>
109 If the incoming HTTP Request had a Content-Type header set, we will use it.
111 =item B<The content-type Query Parameter>
113 If this is a GET request, you can supply a content-type query parameter.
115 =item B<Evaluating the Accept Header>
117 Finally, if the client provided an Accept header, we will evaluate
118 it and use the best-ranked choice.
122 =head1 AVAILABLE SERIALIZERS
124 A given serialization mechanism is only available if you have the underlying
125 modules installed. For example, you can't use XML::Simple if it's not already
128 In addition, each serializer has its quirks in terms of what sorts of data
129 structures it will properly handle. L<Catalyst::Controller::REST> makes
130 no attempt to save you from yourself in this regard. :)
134 =item * C<text/x-yaml> => C<YAML::Syck>
136 Returns YAML generated by L<YAML::Syck>.
138 =item * C<text/html> => C<YAML::HTML>
140 This uses L<YAML::Syck> and L<URI::Find> to generate YAML with all URLs turned
141 to hyperlinks. Only usable for Serialization.
143 =item * C<application/json> => C<JSON>
145 Uses L<JSON> to generate JSON output. It is strongly advised to also have
146 L<JSON::XS> installed. The C<text/x-json> content type is supported but is
147 deprecated and you will receive warnings in your log.
149 You can also add a hash in your controller config to pass options to the json object.
150 For instance, to relax permissions when deserializing input, add:
152 json_options => { relaxed => 1 }
155 =item * C<text/javascript> => C<JSONP>
157 If a callback=? parameter is passed, this returns javascript in the form of: $callback($serializedJSON);
159 Note - this is disabled by default as it can be a security risk if you are unaware.
161 The usual MIME types for this serialization format are: 'text/javascript', 'application/x-javascript',
162 'application/javascript'.
164 =item * C<text/x-data-dumper> => C<Data::Serializer>
166 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Dumper> output.
168 =item * C<text/x-data-denter> => C<Data::Serializer>
170 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Denter> output.
172 =item * C<text/x-data-taxi> => C<Data::Serializer>
174 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Data::Taxi> output.
176 =item * C<text/x-config-general> => C<Data::Serializer>
178 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<Config::General> output.
180 =item * C<text/x-php-serialization> => C<Data::Serializer>
182 Uses the L<Data::Serializer> module to generate L<PHP::Serialization> output.
184 =item * C<text/xml> => C<XML::Simple>
186 Uses L<XML::Simple> to generate XML output. This is probably not suitable
187 for any real heavy XML work. Due to L<XML::Simple>s requirement that the data
188 you serialize be a HASHREF, we transform outgoing data to be in the form of:
190 { data => $yourdata }
194 Uses a regular Catalyst view. For example, if you wanted to have your
195 C<text/html> and C<text/xml> views rendered by TT, set:
199 'text/html' => [ 'View', 'TT' ],
200 'text/xml' => [ 'View', 'XML' ],
204 Your views should have a C<process> method like this:
207 my ( $self, $c, $stash_key ) = @_;
211 $output = $self->serialize( $c->stash->{$stash_key} );
215 $c->response->body( $output );
216 return 1; # important
220 my ( $self, $data ) = @_;
222 my $serialized = ... process $data here ...
229 For infinite flexibility, you can provide a callback for the
230 deserialization/serialization steps.
234 'text/xml' => [ 'Callback', { deserialize => \&parse_xml, serialize => \&render_xml } ],
238 The C<deserialize> callback is passed a string that is the body of the
239 request and is expected to return a scalar value that results from
240 the deserialization. The C<serialize> callback is passed the data
241 structure that needs to be serialized and must return a string suitable
242 for returning in the HTTP response. In addition to receiving the scalar
243 to act on, both callbacks are passed the controller object and the context
244 (i.e. C<$c>) as the second and third arguments.
248 By default, L<Catalyst::Controller::REST> will return a
249 C<415 Unsupported Media Type> response if an attempt to use an unsupported
250 content-type is made. You can ensure that something is always returned by
251 setting the C<default> config option:
253 __PACKAGE__->config(default => 'text/x-yaml');
255 would make it always fall back to the serializer plugin defined for
258 =head1 CUSTOM SERIALIZERS
260 Implementing new Serialization formats is easy! Contributions
261 are most welcome! If you would like to implement a custom serializer,
262 you should create two new modules in the L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>
263 and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize> namespace. Then assign your new
264 class to the content-type's you want, and you're done.
266 See L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize> and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>
267 for more information.
269 =head1 STATUS HELPERS
271 Since so much of REST is in using HTTP, we provide these Status Helpers.
272 Using them will ensure that you are responding with the proper codes,
273 headers, and entities.
275 These helpers try and conform to the HTTP 1.1 Specification. You can
276 refer to it at: L<http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.txt>.
277 These routines are all implemented as regular subroutines, and as
278 such require you pass the current context ($c) as the first argument.
284 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller' }
285 use Params::Validate qw(SCALAR OBJECT);
287 __PACKAGE__->mk_accessors(qw(serialize));
290 'stash_key' => 'rest',
292 'text/xml' => 'XML::Simple',
293 'application/json' => 'JSON',
294 'text/x-json' => 'JSON',
296 'compliance_mode' => 0,
299 sub begin : ActionClass('Deserialize') { }
301 sub end : ActionClass('Serialize') { }
305 Returns a "200 OK" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize.
312 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
321 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { entity => 1, }, );
323 $c->response->status(200);
324 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
330 Returns a "201 CREATED" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize,
331 and a "location" where the created object can be found.
335 $self->status_created(
337 location => $c->req->uri,
339 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
343 In the above example, we use the requested URI as our location.
344 This is probably what you want for most PUT requests.
351 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
354 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT },
355 entity => { optional => 1 },
359 $c->response->status(201);
360 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $p{location} );
361 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
365 =item status_accepted
367 Returns a "202 ACCEPTED" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize.
368 Also takes optional "location" for queue type scenarios.
372 $self->status_accepted(
374 location => $c->req->uri,
382 sub status_accepted {
385 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
388 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT, optional => 1 },
393 $c->response->status(202);
394 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $p{location} ) if exists $p{location};
395 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
399 =item status_no_content
401 Returns a "204 NO CONTENT" response.
405 sub status_no_content {
408 $c->response->status(204);
409 $self->_set_entity( $c, undef );
413 =item status_multiple_choices
415 Returns a "300 MULTIPLE CHOICES" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize, which should
416 provide list of possible locations. Also takes optional "location" for preferred choice.
420 sub status_multiple_choices {
423 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
427 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT, optional => 1 },
431 $c->response->status(300);
432 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $p{location} ) if exists $p{'location'};
433 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
439 Returns a "302 FOUND" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize.
440 Also takes optional "location".
447 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
451 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT, optional => 1 },
455 $c->response->status(302);
456 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $p{location} ) if exists $p{'location'};
457 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
461 =item status_bad_request
463 Returns a "400 BAD REQUEST" response. Takes a "message" argument
464 as a scalar, which will become the value of "error" in the serialized
469 $self->status_bad_request(
471 message => "Cannot do what you have asked!",
476 sub status_bad_request {
479 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
481 $c->response->status(400);
482 $c->log->debug( "Status Bad Request: " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
483 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
487 =item status_forbidden
489 Returns a "403 FORBIDDEN" response. Takes a "message" argument
490 as a scalar, which will become the value of "error" in the serialized
495 $self->status_forbidden(
497 message => "access denied",
502 sub status_forbidden {
505 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
507 $c->response->status(403);
508 $c->log->debug( "Status Forbidden: " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
509 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
513 =item status_not_found
515 Returns a "404 NOT FOUND" response. Takes a "message" argument
516 as a scalar, which will become the value of "error" in the serialized
521 $self->status_not_found(
523 message => "Cannot find what you were looking for!",
528 sub status_not_found {
531 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
533 $c->response->status(404);
534 $c->log->debug( "Status Not Found: " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
535 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
541 Returns a "41O GONE" response. Takes a "message" argument as a scalar,
542 which will become the value of "error" in the serialized response.
548 message => "The document have been deleted by foo",
556 my %p = Params::Validate::validate( @_, { message => { type => SCALAR }, }, );
558 $c->response->status(410);
559 $c->log->debug( "Status Gone " . $p{'message'} ) if $c->debug;
560 $self->_set_entity( $c, { error => $p{'message'} } );
564 =item status_see_other
566 Returns a "303 See Other" response. Takes an optional "entity" to serialize,
567 and a "location" where the client should redirect to.
571 $self->status_see_other(
573 location => $some_other_url,
575 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
581 sub status_see_other {
584 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
587 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT },
588 entity => { optional => 1 },
592 $c->response->status(303);
593 $c->response->header( 'Location' => $p{location} );
594 $self->_set_entity( $c, $p{'entity'} );
600 Returns a "301 MOVED" response. Takes an "entity" to serialize, and a
601 "location" where the created object can be found.
607 location => '/somewhere/else',
609 radiohead => "Is a good band!",
618 my %p = Params::Validate::validate(
621 location => { type => SCALAR | OBJECT },
622 entity => { optional => 1 },
626 my $location = ref $p{location}
627 ? $p{location}->as_string
631 $c->response->status(301);
632 $c->response->header( Location => $location );
633 $self->_set_entity($c, $p{entity});
641 if ( defined($entity) ) {
642 $c->stash->{ $self->{'stash_key'} } = $entity;
649 =head1 MANUAL RESPONSES
651 If you want to construct your responses yourself, all you need to
652 do is put the object you want serialized in $c->stash->{'rest'}.
654 =head1 IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS
656 This Controller ties together L<Catalyst::Action::REST>,
657 L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize> and L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>. It should be suitable for most applications. You should be aware that it:
661 =item Configures the Serialization Actions
663 This class provides a default configuration for Serialization. It is currently:
666 'stash_key' => 'rest',
668 'text/html' => 'YAML::HTML',
669 'text/xml' => 'XML::Simple',
670 'text/x-yaml' => 'YAML',
671 'application/json' => 'JSON',
672 'text/x-json' => 'JSON',
673 'text/x-data-dumper' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Dumper' ],
674 'text/x-data-denter' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Denter' ],
675 'text/x-data-taxi' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Data::Taxi' ],
676 'application/x-storable' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Storable' ],
677 'application/x-freezethaw' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'FreezeThaw' ],
678 'text/x-config-general' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'Config::General' ],
679 'text/x-php-serialization' => [ 'Data::Serializer', 'PHP::Serialization' ],
683 You can read the full set of options for this configuration block in
684 L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>.
686 =item Sets a C<begin> and C<end> method for you
688 The C<begin> method uses L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>. The C<end>
689 method uses L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>. If you want to override
690 either behavior, simply implement your own C<begin> and C<end> actions
691 and forward to another action with the Serialize and/or Deserialize
694 package Foo::Controller::Monkey;
696 use namespace::autoclean;
698 BEGIN { extends 'Catalyst::Controller::REST' }
700 sub begin : Private {
702 ... do things before Deserializing ...
703 $c->forward('deserialize');
704 ... do things after Deserializing ...
707 sub deserialize : ActionClass('Deserialize') {}
711 ... do things before Serializing ...
712 $c->forward('serialize');
713 ... do things after Serializing ...
716 sub serialize : ActionClass('Serialize') {}
718 If you need to deserialize multipart requests (i.e. REST data in
719 one part and file uploads in others) you can do so by using the
720 L<Catalyst::Action::DeserializeMultiPart> action class.
724 =head1 A MILD WARNING
726 I have code in production using L<Catalyst::Controller::REST>. That said,
727 it is still under development, and it's possible that things may change
728 between releases. I promise to not break things unnecessarily. :)
732 L<Catalyst::Action::REST>, L<Catalyst::Action::Serialize>,
733 L<Catalyst::Action::Deserialize>
735 For help with REST in general:
737 The HTTP 1.1 Spec is required reading. http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.txt
739 Wikipedia! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_State_Transfer
741 The REST Wiki: http://rest.blueoxen.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?FrontPage
745 See L<Catalyst::Action::REST> for authors.
749 You may distribute this code under the same terms as Perl itself.
753 __PACKAGE__->meta->make_immutable;