Making REST Difficult
VinPOWER’s VinLINK is a fairly simple web service for looking up car VIN data, but they make it sound really complicated:
The VinLINK system is a standard HTTP POST protocol.
- Open TCP/IP connection to VinLINK server.
- Send request formatted as an HTTP POST (RFC 2616, see http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2616.html).
(for example: http://service.vinlink.com/report?type=basic&vin=1FMCUo4112KA7126 )- The VinLINK server will access vehicle data, format it as XML, output the information through the same TCP/IP connection and close the connection.
The information is sent as a standard HTTP reply, with content set to "text/xml".- Reads the information and close your side of the TCP/IP connection.
Meanwhile, one of their competitors says:
You will find that using the decoder web service is as simple as making an HTTP request. ... Using REST/XML you should be able to implement within 1 hour.
Two similar services. Two very different explanations.
2 comments
Comments
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Hey Dan, are either of these services “free” or are they charging per decoded VIN? Glad to see your new blog.
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Ed,
They all charge, usually per decoded VIN. I don’t remember exactly off the top of my head, but it starts around 20ยข/decode and drops with volume.
