Defintion of REST

• s a software architectural style which uses a subset of HTTP.

• It is commonly used to create interactive applications that use Web services.
• A Web service that follows these guidelines is called RESTful.

SuperAgent

• SuperAgent is light-weight progressive ajax API crafted for flexibility, readability, and a low learning curve after being frustrated with many of the existing request APIs. It also works with Node.js! .

Request basics

• A request can be initiated by invoking the appropriate method on the request object, then calling .then() (or .end() or await) to send the request.
• Old-style callbacks are also supported, but not recommended. Instead of .then() you can call .end():.
• DELETE, HEAD, PATCH, POST, and PUT requests can also be used,
• DELETE can be also called as .del() for compatibility with old IE where delete is a reserved word.

GET requests

• The .query() method accepts objects, which when used with the GET method will form a query-string.

  Query strings

• req.query(obj) is a method which may be used to build up a query-string. For example populating ?format=json&dest=/login on a POST.

TLS options

• In Node.js SuperAgent supports methods to configure HTTPS requests:

• .ca() : Set the CA certificate(s) to trust.
• .cert() : Set the client certificate chain(s).
• .key() : Set the client private key(s).
• .pfx() : Set the client PFX or PKCS12 encoded private key and certificate chain.
• .disableTLSCerts() : Does not reject expired or invalid TLS certs.

Parsing response bodies

• SuperAgent will parse known response-body data for you, currently supporting application/x-www-form-urlencoded, application/json, and multipart/form-data.

Aborting requests

• To abort requests simply invoke the req.abort() method.

  Authentication

• In both Node and browsers auth available via the .auth()

Browser and node versions

• SuperAgent has two implementations: one for web browsers (using XHR) and one for Node.JS (using core http module).

• By default Browserify and WebPack will pick the browser version.

• If want to use WebPack to compile code for Node.JS, you must specify node target in its configuration.

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