RESTful + Controller = Restler

Restler is a base controller for Pylons projects that provides a set of default RESTful actions that can be overridden as needed.

Quick Start

Install Pylons 0.9.7

easy_install Pylons==dev

Development of Restler is currently done with Pylons 0.9.7rc1dev

Install Restler

easy_install -U Restler

Or, install from the latest trunk:

svn checkout http://restler.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/ Restler
cd Restler
python setup.py develop

Note: If you have problems with the easy_installed version of Restler, try the SVN version, which may have fixes that I haven't yet uploaded to PyPI.

Create a new Pylons project

paster create --template=pylons MyProject
cd MyProject

Add your database configuration to development.ini

Add a line like this to the [app:main] section:

sqlalchemy.dburi = <db_type>://<user>:<password>@<host>/<database>

Replace <db_type>, <user>, <password>, <host>, and <database> to reflect your setup. For example:

sqlalchemy.dburi = sqlite:///%(here)s/myproject.db

Create a base RestController that's aware of your project's model

Open myproject/lib/base.py and add the following lines below the existing imports:

import restler
RestController = restler.make_rest_controller(model)

You can also create a new RestController class in lib.base that inherits from restler.BaseController. Here's an example that shows a quick and dirty way to secure the actions that cause modifications:

class RestController(restler.make_rest_controller(model)):
    def __call__(self, environ, start_response):
        return super(RestController, self).__call__(environ, start_response)

    new = edit = create = update = delete = lambda *args, **kwargs: abort(403)

In real life, you'll probably want to use AuthKit or something similar to protect these actions.

Note: The default BaseController generated by paster when creating a new Pylons project is used by the default error and template controllers.

Create some SQLAlchemy mapped orm classes in model/init.py

Coming soon!

Create a controller for each of the Entity classes declared above

Coming soon!

Map URLs for resources/entities to controllers

Coming soon!

Create the database tables for the entity classes you declared above

Coming soon!

Fire up your Pylons app and try it out

paster serve --reload development.ini

You should now be able to Create, Read, Update, and Delete resources.

Look at all the things I'm not doing

Coming soon!

Epilogue

Restler was originally extracted from the byCycle.org Bicycle Trip Planner (http://bycycle.org).

Send feedback, corrections, et cetera to wyatt .DOT. lee .DOT. baldwin .AT. gmail .DOT. com or create an issue.