RESTful is not a spec, as has been pointed out: it&#x27;s an idea. It&#x27;s much more like other large-scale design patterns than it is a protocol. Think &quot;object oriented,&quot; or &quot;procedural,&quot; not &quot;http&quot; or &quot;tcp.&quot; There is only one correct way to implement&#x2F;use a protocol, but there are many valid expressions of a pattern or idea. It&#x27;s more or less accepted, I think, that the vast majority of &quot;RESTful&quot; implementation don&#x27;t obey all the original (15 year old!) guidelines.