RESTful web services [1] aim to provide services following a so-called resource-oriented architectural style. They have been inspired by Roy Fielding, one of the co-authors of HTTP, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol [2], and his PhD thesis on the design of network-based software architectures [3]. The key concept of RESTful web services is REpresentational State Transfer (REST), which means that, instead of having web services that keep runtime state information in memory on the server side, RESTful web services are stateless and carry state information only in their invocation messages or their responses. Input and output messages carry the so-called representations of the resources remotely managed by the service. The resources are the actual objects managed by the web service.
This style of web services is very similar to how the Web works and to how common web applications are structured. It is currently having huge momentum, in that it is relatively easy to program (once you get the concept), straightforward, and easy to use. Learn how to develop your own RESTful web services.
A summary video on introduction to RESTful Web Services
by prof. Florian Daniel
Here you can download the slides of the lesson:
Introduction to RESTful web services: part 1
Introduction to RESTful web services: part 2
Test here your comprehension and preparation.