Basic REST Operations

The APS controller stores APS resources as JSON objects in the APS database. The resources are available to users through REST requests sent to the APS controller. However, since the APS resources are protected, a user needs to be logged in to a platform control panel. When an APS application instance needs to interact with the APS controller in background, it must authenticate itself as outlined in Session Management.

There is a set of four fundamental REST operations referred to as CRUD: create, read, update, and delete. They refer to the four corresponding HTTP methods in the table below.

Operation	HTTP method	Description
Create	POST	Create a resource as a JSON object in the APS database
Read	GET	Read a list of resources, a resource, or its property in JSON format
Update	PUT	Modify a resource or its property by sending updated JSON structure
Delete	DELETE	Remove a resource from the APS database

For example, a user or an application can get the list of APS resources stored in the hosting system by issuing the following GET request addressing it to the node with the APS controller installed:

GET /aps/2/resources

Furthermore, you can get details about any resource from the list printed by the previous command if you specify its ID at the end of a URI as follows.

GET /aps/2/resources/7166b58f-67ea-4adf-bdb7-893f03026ef7

Since the APS controller works as the service bus for all communicating APS participants, the REST operations similar to the above can be initiated by an APS application instance or by a UI code on a user activity. In either case, the REST operation is secured, as the APS controller requires authentication credentials from any requester.

A third party system can also get access to the APS as demonstrated in Using Platform Services. You can verify the above REST operations using a REST client (standalone or as a web browser plugin).

For details on generating REST requests, refer to Using APS REST API.

← Types

Platform Data Models →