A REST Framework for Dynamic Client Environments

Abstract

The REST Framework for Dynamic Client Environments (RFDE) is a method for building RESTful Web applications that fully exploit the diverse and rich feature-sets of modern client environments while retaining functionality in the absence of these features. For instance, we describe how an application may use a modern JavaScript library to enhance interactivity and end-user experience while also maintaining usability when the library is unavailable to the client (perhaps due to incompatible software). These methods form a framework that we have developed as part of our work on a Web application for presenting large volumes of scientific datasets to nonspecialists.