Joomla REST API extension com_api version 2.2 released

In the past few weeks we have made incremental upgrades to com_api, our REST API extension for Joomla. For those who are not aware, com_api is a quick and easy way to add REST APIs to Joomla. Extensible via plugins, you can easily add support for more Joomla extensions.  This blog details the changes & improvements done from from 2.0 to 2.2.

The key change is support for SEF URLs, which will enable you to create better URLs for your API endpoints, like /api/articles/article/34. Till now, the API endpoints could only be accessed by Joomla non-sef URLs, making the URLs look clunky.

Few other changes include support for the Authorization header, and being able to override the response envelope for the resources. Also a few bug fixes around viewing logs and a performance improvement for sites that had a lot of API consumers.

Documentation

We have revamped our documentation to make it easy for developers to write their own API plugins. You can find it here : http://techjoomla.github.io/com_api/

Impact

Version 2.0 and onward introduces a backward compatibility break in the default output structure of the response. AppCarvers customers please check the blog on appcarvers.com before you upgrade.

To know about the full changelog, read on.

Changelog

Version 2.2

• FEAT : Ability to use the Authorization header to send the token using the Bearer scheme
• FIX : Output override path
• FIX : Full URL wasn't saving in logs
• IMP : Changed default log ordering to latest first

Version 2.1

• SEF URLs for API endpoints
• Performance improvements for sites having a lot of API consumers

Version 2.0

• Support for overriding the JSON or XML output
• Support for Accept header to decide the output type
• Add a X-Compatibility-Mode header to force output in the older format
• Fixes issues with XML output
• APIs supporting JSON input can now see request logs
• Logs are added for failed requests as well