Ask HN: Anyone here switch to Go for building (REST) APIs?

If an API response included all the possible actions and information that one takes as a follow up to a previous call, how is that any different from providing the equivalent forms and links to additional information on a web page rendered by a browser?

It certainly seems possible to pigeonhole an API into a RESTful architecture but I understand why based on the article, APIs aren't often considered RESTful.

But it seems they can be. I see this as a proof by contradiction.

I, today, can navigate directly to posts by a friend of mine on a social media site. Auto logged in, not having to enter any form data etc. That's my starting point both in a browser and via API.

I'd see their post. Alongside that post I'd see actions I can take: clicking on other friends' profiles, liking the post, commenting on the post, removing the friend etc.

Encoding all that in an API might look like this:

  {
    name: 'john',
    userId: '12'
    nickName: 'johnny',
    posts: [
      { content: 'My funny comment', likes: 3, likedByUserIds: ['13', '14', '15' ], postId: 333 },
      { ... }
    ]
    relatedEndpoints: [
      '/users/12/friends/', : {}
      '/users/13', : {}
      '/users/14', : {}
      '/users/15', : {}
      '/like/333, : {}
      '/unlike/333', : {}
      '/remove-friend/12', : {}
      '/comment/333/' : { commentText: '' }
      ...
    ]
  }

* No consulting of external documentation is needed, all the information is right there. *

I can explore another user's profile (people with user ids of 13, 14, and 15), I can like and unlike this post with the `/like/` and `/unlike` routes, I can remove this person from my friends list etc.

Including such information makes this response no different than what I can do via browsing the page - all my interactions with the API are directly driven by their responses - not by consuming outside documentation.

If all possible actions and their routes were included on route supported by my API, why would this not be RESTful?

At the end of the day - this to me is a distinction without a difference. Whether this documentation is defined as part of the response or stored in an OpenAPI spec, the end result is the same - I can easily wire things up together to accomplish my goals.

This is where SDKs become more useful.

SDKs are fully documented, require no external information for them to be used, contain everything possible that can be done as methods etc.

If I get a `User` class back from an SDK - I can then invoke all the methods on that user like - getFriends, getPostById, etc etc.

If I call a `getFriendById(12)` method I'd expect a `Friend` instance rather than a more generic `User` instance which should have a `removeFriend` method but no `addFriend` method. That appears equally as RESTful as a website with actions that can be taken.