Hypermedia
Hypermedia is content or information structured with links or controls that enable navigation to related resources or actions.
Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core
Hypermedia is media content that embeds links or controls enabling navigation to related resources or actions.
- How it is used
- Uses hypermedia to make next actions discoverable in RESTful board-game API responses.
- How deep it goes
- Works through response DTOs and one generated self link, while leaving modification links as a proposed extension.
- Examples
- Shows a BoardGames controller returning three games with a generated GET self link in JSON.
- What you can do after
- Build it from scratch using C# response DTOs and an ASP.NET Core controller that returns data with descriptive links.
Read how Building Web APIs with ASP.NET Core explains hypermedia →
The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition
A hypermedia format is a data representation format that embeds links, actions, or other controls describing how related resources and operations can be discovered.
- How it is used
- Enables runtime discovery and navigation for dynamic, generic, or AI-powered API consumers.
- How deep it goes
- Explains HTTP metadata, standardized formats, content negotiation, and data boundaries, but only scratches the surface of format specifications.
- Examples
- Uses fleet updates, rental contracts, banking transfers, pagination links, and HAL or Siren representations with actions.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it by selecting a standard format, advertising capabilities, negotiating representations, and preserving essential data outside metadata.
Read how The Design of Web APIs, Second Edition explains hypermedia →
Spring in Action, Sixth Edition
HATEOAS is a REST constraint in which hypermedia controls guide a client through an application's available resources and state transitions.
- How it is used
- Guides API clients through available resources and state transitions using hyperlinks.
- How deep it goes
- Explains link-based navigation, generated responses, and tradeoffs, then stops short of implementing custom hypermedia APIs.
- Examples
- Uses curl responses for ingredient collections and individual ingredients containing self, ingredient, and profile links.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Spring Data REST by consuming generated hyperlinks as navigation targets for subsequent API requests.
Read how Spring in Action, Sixth Edition explains hypermedia →
Related concepts
- base pathproduced by · A base path is the common URL or URI path prefix under which an application, API, or set of resources is exposed.
- OpenAPI specificationcontrasts with · The OpenAPI Specification is a standard, machine-readable format for describing HTTP APIs, including their operations, inputs, outputs, data structures, and security requirements.
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