[FIXED] When to use @RestController vs @RepositoryRestResource

Issue

I have been looking at various examples of how to use Spring with REST. Our end target is a Spring HATEOAS/HAL setup

I have seen two distinct methods for rendering REST within Spring

1. Via @RestController within a Controller

2. Via @RepositoryRestResource within a Repository

The thing I am struggling to find is why would you use one over the other. When trying to implement HAL which is best?

Our database backend is Neo4j.

Solution

Ok, so the short story is that you want to use the @RepositoryRestResource since this creates a HATEOAS service with Spring JPA.

As you can see here adding this annotation and linking it to your Pojo you have a fully functional HATEOAS service without having to implement the repository method or the REST service methods

If you add the @RestController then you have to implement each method that you want to expose on your own and also it does not export this to a HATEOAS format.

Answered By - zpontikas