REST to my wife - can somebody explain this phrase from it?

Question

I've been reading How I Explained REST to My Wife. Great article but I don't get the ending :D.

Wife: So this is what you and all the computer people are working on now? Deciding what the data should look like?

Ryan: Sadly, no. Instead, the large majority are busy writing layers of complex specifications for doing this stuff in a different way that isn’t nearly as useful or eloquent. Nouns aren’t universal and verbs aren’t polymorphic. We’re throwing out decades of real field usage and proven technique and starting over with something that looks a lot like other systems that have failed in the past. We’re using HTTP but only because it helps us talk to our network and security people less. We’re trading simplicity for flashy tools and wizards.

What is Ryan refering to?

Rudman

Great article, thanks for the link – Byplay

Answer 1

He's dissing SOAP-style "big" web services, one of the main alternatives to REST.

Bludge

I see. But I don't think SOAP is built for the same purpose that REST addresses. Consider WS-Security. Am I wrong? Or should I understand that people are misusing SOAP? – Rudman

@user2011, I don't want to speak for Tomayko. But he would likely argue that most uses of SOAP would be better served by REST. The Wikipedia article on WS-Security notes that TLS alone is enough for many common use cases. – Bludge