[dragonwriter]

> The web itself is hardly REST.

HTTP/1.0 provided the inspiration for REST, which was defined by Fielding in parallel with work on HTTP/1.1 which it informed. The web itself is very much REST, essentially being the defining instance of the architectural style.

> Plus it's not really an API as in easily consumed by a machine.

Yes, it actually is a REST API that is actually made to be, and regularly used as, an interface consumed as hypertext by machines who access requested content by locator, choose how to handle it by identified media type, identify and either directly act on or present user options to act on related content by hypermedia links, etc. Whether this is end-user software (browsers) or unattended software (Googlebot and other spiders), etc.

[MichaelGG]

I think you are really trying to dodge the question. Spiders often employ plenty of AI to try to make sense of stuff. It's not an API in any useful sense. For instance, automating Amazon.com. Humans manage fine because underlying changes and renamed URLs, input fields, etc. are ignored. A spider can't handle that (buying items, updating kindle preferences, etc.)

But for values of API that you know I'm referring to, where is one popular, truly REST API? Say, one that includes an SDK, if you need help with the definition. The fact that no one can really point out a good example means it's irrelevant to program writers.

Also, if you're saying the web is all REST essentially by definition, then so are these POST-only APIs, but they aren't. Or it's a useless tautology.

Plus I don't see any real difference in the web of HTTP1 vs 1.1, so that whole claim is suspect too. Perhaps you can elaborate exactly what HTTP1.1 added that really changed anything except some ease of use (host header, absolute URLs, keep alive).