Creating REST APIs

The previous lesson covered REST concepts generally. This one builds a real one: the CFC attributes that turn a component into a REST resource, registering it so ColdFusion actually knows it exists, and a complete CRUD example.

Learning Objectives

After completing this lesson, you'll be able to:

• Turn a CFC into a REST resource with rest and restPath.
• Expose functions as endpoints with httpMethod, produces, and consumes.
• Accept a path parameter with restArgSource.
• Register a REST service with restInitApplication, and know the real Lucee-vs-Adobe difference in that call.

How a Request Actually Reaches Your Code

A Basic REST Component

component rest="true" restPath="products" {

    remote array function getAllProducts() httpMethod="GET" produces="application/json" {
        return [
            { id: 1, name: "Laptop", price: 999.99 },
            { id: 2, name: "Smartphone", price: 499.99 }
        ];
    }

}

cfcomponent's REST Attributes

cffunction's REST Attributes

A Real Example: A Path Parameter

remote struct function getProductById(required numeric id restArgSource="Path")
    httpMethod="GET"
    restPath="{id}"
    produces="application/json" {

    return { id: arguments.id, name: "Sample Product", price: 0.00 };
}

Registering the Service: restInitApplication

component {
    this.name = "MyRestAPIApp";

    public boolean function onApplicationStart() {
        restInitApplication(expandPath("./api"), "api_v1");
        return true;
    }
}

A Real Engine Difference: restInitApplication's Signature

The URL Structure

A Real Example: A Complete CRUD Component

component rest="true" restPath="products" {

    remote array function getAllProducts() httpMethod="GET" produces="application/json" {
        return productService.getAll();
    }

    remote struct function getProductById(required numeric id restArgSource="Path")
        httpMethod="GET" restPath="{id}" produces="application/json" {
        return productService.getById(arguments.id);
    }

    remote struct function createProduct(required string name restArgSource="Form", required numeric price restArgSource="Form")
        httpMethod="POST" produces="application/json" {
        return productService.create(arguments.name, arguments.price);
    }

    remote struct function updateProduct(required numeric id restArgSource="Path", required string name restArgSource="Form")
        httpMethod="PUT" restPath="{id}" produces="application/json" {
        return productService.update(arguments.id, arguments.name);
    }

    remote void function deleteProduct(required numeric id restArgSource="Path")
        httpMethod="DELETE" restPath="{id}" {
        productService.delete(arguments.id);
    }

}

A Real Feature Worth Knowing: PATCH Support

Beyond Native CFCs: Taffy and ColdBox

Native rest="true" CFCs work well for a straightforward API, but larger production APIs often reach for a dedicated framework instead: Taffy is a long-standing, lightweight REST framework built specifically for CFML, and ColdBox (with its Relax module) is the option if you're already using ColdBox's full MVC framework, covered later in this course. Both add built-in routing, authentication filtering, and custom status code handling that native CFCs leave you to build yourself.

Common Beginner Mistakes

Best Practices

• Keep REST-enabled CFCs organized in a dedicated folder, matching what restInitApplication scans.
• Set produces/consumes explicitly when content negotiation actually matters, rather than relying on the */* default everywhere.
• Use restArgSource="Path" for identifiers and Form (or a JSON body) for created/updated payloads, matching how the data actually arrives.
• Reach for Taffy or ColdBox/Relax once a native-CFC API's routing and auth needs start outgrowing what rest="true" alone comfortably handles.

Interview Questions

Summary

In this lesson, you turned a CFC into a REST resource, exposed functions with httpMethod/produces/consumes, accepted a path parameter with restArgSource, registered the service with restInitApplication, built a complete CRUD example, and covered a real Lucee-vs-Adobe difference in that registration call.

What's Next?

The next lesson covers consuming APIs, calling an external REST service from ColdFusion with cfhttp.