13. JSON+hal as serialization Format for the API¶

13.1. Context and Problem Statement¶

The backend needs to serialize the REST resources before sending them via http to the client.

13.2. Decision Drivers¶

the format should be REST/HATEOAS compatible (e.g. allow hyperlinks)
the format should be easy to parse/serialize for the backend and the client

13.3. Considered Options¶

xml
pure json
json+hal

13.4. Decision Outcome¶

We will use json+hal (or the spring implementation for json with hyperlinks) without the _embedded attribute (because of its complexity to implement correctly).