Expose Your Database as REST Web Services

In 2005 there were 105 open APIs. Today, we have over 15,000 APIs. 40 new APIs are being made public every week. The data industry is moving toward an integrated environment, made possible through APIs. Therefore, it is very important for your organization to make your data accessible through standard APIs in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Why RESTify Your Database?

As enterprises grow, a wide variety of data is produced, consumed and, stored at different parts of the organization. The success of a business lies in its ability to integrate its data from across the organization and analyze it to make more informed decisions. APIs make this integration possible. REST is one of the most popular APIs to communicate with web, mobile, and cloud apps. RESTful web services provide a data access layer that can be accessed from anywhere in real time.

OData: The Best Way to REST

OData (Open Data Protocol) is an OASIS standard that defines a set of best practices for building and consuming RESTful APIs. OData helps you focus on your business logic while building RESTful APIs without having to worry about the various approaches to define request and response headers, status codes, HTTP methods, URL conventions, media types, payload formats, query options, etc. OData also provides guidance for tracking changes, defining functions/actions for reusable procedures, and sending asynchronous/batch requests.

When you develop the REST interface of your data source against the OData standard, it makes it easy for other developers to access your data without learning a new API. This makes integrating with different applications easy, thereby making the life of the user much easier. Applications such as Tableau, Salesforce, Tibco, Telerik, Informatica, Excel, Board, etc. consume OData, and this list will only increase with time. Want to learn more? Check out our blog, “What is OData? REST Easy with Our Quick Guide.”