DSpace REST API: an Interface for Reusing DSpace Content, and Practical Applications

Abstract

The DSpace REST API, added in DSpace 4.0, presents a fresh way to reuse your existing DSpace content. By providing an interface to interact with content of Community, Collection, Item, Bitstream, all the data of a DSpace repository can be made accessible to an external system. This first phase of the REST API provides access to public content, and only supports Read operations. This capability enables developers to build on top of the REST interface, which is sufficient for building a new frontend user interface, integrating content into another system, or building lightweight webpage widgets. This presentation will provide a quick primer on the DSpace REST API, as well as explore some of these practical applications that can be built on top of the API, including a frontend written in Ruby on Rails.