RESTful API Design: How to elegantly get all comments under a specific tweet?

RESTful API Resource Nesting Design: Best Practices for Tweets and Comments

When designing a RESTful API, the way resources are organized is crucial. This article explores how to design URLs to get all comments under a specific tweet and analyzes the pros and cons of nested structures.

Question: How do I design a RESTful URL to get all comments with a tweet ID of 1?

Solution comparison:

• Solution 1 (Nested Structure): GET /api/tweets/1/comments directly express the hierarchical relationship of comments affiliated with tweets.

• Scheme 2 (query parameters): GET /api/comments?tweet_id=1 Use query parameters to associate tweets.

Best Practice Recommendation Plan 1:

Plan 1 is more in line with the RESTful principle. Comments are sub-resources for tweets, and their existence depends on tweets. Nested structures ( /api/tweets/1/comments ) clearly reflect this subordinate relationship and are intuitive and easy to understand.

Although solution 2 is functionally feasible, tweet_id query parameter weakens the inherent connection between comments and tweets. Although obtaining a single comment GET /api/comments/1 is concise, it lacks consistency in the URL structure with Scheme 2, reducing the overall consistency of the API.

Fault tolerance considerations:

If the system needs to consider the loss or deletion of comment data, Solution 2 may have more advantages, making it easier to find relevant tweets through tweet_id . But without this requirement, getting a single comment GET /api/comments/1 is also a standard RESTful design.

Final choice:

Which solution to choose depends on the actual application scenario and needs. Scheme 1 is recommended if the clarity and consistency of the API and the semantic relationships between resources are preferred; Scheme 2 may be more appropriate if greater fault tolerance and flexibility are required.

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