Overview

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DreamFactoryOverview
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## Introduction
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== Introduction ==
  
DreamFactory is an open source REST API backend that provides RESTful services for building mobile, web, and IoT applications.
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DreamFactory is an open source REST API middleware platform that provides RESTful services for building mobile, web, and IoT applications.
  
<br>
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DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive, customizable, and secure REST API for backend data resources, including SQL, NoSQL, file storage, email, and push notifications. You can also securely proxy to any remote REST or SOAP service and run your own custom APIs with DreamFactory.
http://www.dreamfactory.com/sites/default/files/short_stack.png
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<br>
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DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive, customizable, and secure REST API for any backend data resource, including SQL, NoSQL, file storage, email, and push notifications.  
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Other important features include server-side scripting with V8 Javascript, Node.js, PHP, and Python, single sign-on, user management, LDAP / Active Directory / OAuth integration, role-based access control on tables and records, interactive API docs, and sample applications to quickly learn by example.
  
Other important features include server-side scripting and customization, single sign-on, user management, record-level access control, interactive API docs, and client SDKs.
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DreamFactory is “runtime” software. Your application makes API calls to DreamFactory and DreamFactory returns JSON (or XML) at runtime back to your application over SSL.  
  
In technical terms, DreamFactory is a LAMP / WAMP / MAMP stack that runs on Linux (Ubuntu, Red Hat, CentOS, Debian), Windows, and Mac OS X. As such, DreamFactory scales horizontally and vertically based on the number and size of servers. [Installation options](Usage-Options) are highly flexible. You can install DreamFactory on your IaaS cloud, PaaS provider, on premises server, or laptop.  
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The platform runs on Ubuntu, Red Hat, CentOS, and Debian Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. Like any LAMP stack, DreamFactory scales horizontally and vertically based on the number and size of servers. Learn more about installation options [[DreamFactory/Installation|here]].
  
DreamFactory is “runtime” software, which is to say that your application makes API calls to DreamFactory and DreamFactory returns JSON (or XML) at runtime back to your application over SSL.  
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[[File:Dreamfactory-architecture.png | 1000px]]
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## Features
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== Features ==
  
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[[File:Dreamfactory-call-detail.png | 1000px]]
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http://www.dreamfactory.com/sites/default/files/stack_detail.png
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=== Automatically Generated REST APIs ===
  
### Automatically Generated REST APIs  
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DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive REST API for SQL, NoSQL, file storage, email, and push notifications. You can also use DreamFactory to securely call any remote web service, including your own custom-built REST APIs and SOAP services. DreamFactory securely stores the credentials of back-end data sources and exposes these data sources as a standard REST interface. The REST API includes [[DreamFactory/API|live API documentation]] and [[DreamFactory/Tutorials/Example_Applications|example applications]] for various development environments.
  
DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive REST API for SQL databases, NoSQL document stores, file storage, email, and push notifications. You can also use DreamFactory to securely call any RESTful web service, including custom-built REST APIs. DreamFactory securely stores the credentials of backend data sources and exposes these data sources as a standard REST interface. The REST API includes [live API documentation](REST-API) and [client SDKs](Client-SDKs) for iOS, Android, Titanium, Javascript, and AngularJS.
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=== Server-Side Scripting ===
  
### Server-Side Scripting & Customization
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Any non-trivial application requires server-side logic. DreamFactory provides [[DreamFactory/Features/Scripting|server-side scripting]] with the V8 Javascript Engine, Node.js, PHP, and Python. DreamFactory makes it easy to write server-side scripts and attach your scripts to any API request and response event. DreamFactory also provides the flexibility to use server-side scripts to implement your own custom API endpoints.
  
Any non-trivial application requires server-side logic. To handle server-side logic, DreamFactory provides [server-side scripting](Server-Side-Scripting) with the V8 Javascript Engine. DreamFactory makes it easy to write server-side scripts with Javascript and attach your scripts to any API request and response event. DreamFactory also provides the flexibility to implement business logic as custom scripts, which can be invoked as simple REST API calls.
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=== Security Controls ===
  
### Security Controls
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DreamFactory’s user management system provides runtime security on all API calls and server-side scripts. The user management system includes an administrative application to manage end users, role-based access control to every API endpoint API (including table-level and record-level access to databases), OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory integration for authentication and authorization. Under the hood, DreamFactory handles secure password hashing, authentication, and session handling for you with secure API keys and JSON Web Tokens (JWT).
  
DreamFactory’s user management system provides runtime security on all API calls and server-side scripts. The user management system includes an administrative application to manage end users, user roles, OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory integration.
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== Benefits ==
  
Under the hood, DreamFactory handles secure password hashing, authentication, and session handling for you. You can easily configure explicit role-based access control to every backend resource, for both the REST API and server-side scripts, including configurable access control to SQL tables, NoSQL collections, SQL and NoSQL record sets, BLOB storage, email, and push notifications.  
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DreamFactory helps development teams in a number of ways, summarized here.
  
The security system also governs access to any remote REST service you add. For example, you can easily connect to a custom REST API with DreamFactory and use the role system to control end user access to your custom-built API.
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=== Front-end Developers ===
 
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## Benefits
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DreamFactory helps development teams in a number of ways, depending on your role on the team.
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### Front-end Developers
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* Focus on front-end development rather than working on (or waiting on) server-side software
 
* Focus on front-end development rather than working on (or waiting on) server-side software
 
* Connect to new data sources in minutes with just a few clicks
 
* Connect to new data sources in minutes with just a few clicks
 
* Access multiple data sources with RESTful ease and automatic security
 
* Access multiple data sources with RESTful ease and automatic security
* Faster, less costly projects via instant, robust RESTful services
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* Faster, less costly projects with instant, robust REST APIs
  
### Back-end / API Developers
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=== Back-end / API Developers ===
  
* Automatically generate and document secure, reliable, and reusable RESTful APIs
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* Automatically generate and document secure, reliable, and reusable REST APIs
 
* Customize auto-generated APIs with pre- and post-processing scripting logic
 
* Customize auto-generated APIs with pre- and post-processing scripting logic
* Integrated with existing security controls so you don’t have to re-implement and test for each API
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* Integrate with existing security controls like OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory so you don’t have to re-implement and test for each API
* Move applications between clouds or between your cloud and data center
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* Easily move applications between clouds or between your cloud and data center
  
### Enterprise Architects
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=== Enterprise Architects ===
  
 
* Govern security with your own data access platform running in the cloud or on premises
 
* Govern security with your own data access platform running in the cloud or on premises
 
* Accelerate innovation with secure, scalable, reusable REST APIs to enterprise data sources
 
* Accelerate innovation with secure, scalable, reusable REST APIs to enterprise data sources
* Enable standardized services abstraction layer for modern apps
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* Enable a standard, unified API abstraction layer for modern apps that need to connect to legacy data sources that can't be readily changed
* Improve application reliability and security enterprise-wide with managed RESTful services
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* Improve application reliability and security enterprise-wide with managed REST services
 
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## Try DreamFactory Out
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To install the DreamFactory open source package on a server or laptop, head on over to [Usage Options](Usage-Options) for instructions.
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== Try DreamFactory Out ==
  
To try out DreamFactory without installing it, sign up for a free hosted developer environment at www.dreamfactory.com.
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To install the DreamFactory open source package on a server or laptop, head on over to [[DreamFactory/Installation|installation]] for instructions.

Latest revision as of 16:55, 24 July 2020

Introduction

DreamFactory is an open source REST API middleware platform that provides RESTful services for building mobile, web, and IoT applications.

DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive, customizable, and secure REST API for backend data resources, including SQL, NoSQL, file storage, email, and push notifications. You can also securely proxy to any remote REST or SOAP service and run your own custom APIs with DreamFactory.

Other important features include server-side scripting with V8 Javascript, Node.js, PHP, and Python, single sign-on, user management, LDAP / Active Directory / OAuth integration, role-based access control on tables and records, interactive API docs, and sample applications to quickly learn by example.

DreamFactory is “runtime” software. Your application makes API calls to DreamFactory and DreamFactory returns JSON (or XML) at runtime back to your application over SSL.

The platform runs on Ubuntu, Red Hat, CentOS, and Debian Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X. Like any LAMP stack, DreamFactory scales horizontally and vertically based on the number and size of servers. Learn more about installation options here.



Dreamfactory-architecture.png

Features



Dreamfactory-call-detail.png

Automatically Generated REST APIs

DreamFactory automatically generates a comprehensive REST API for SQL, NoSQL, file storage, email, and push notifications. You can also use DreamFactory to securely call any remote web service, including your own custom-built REST APIs and SOAP services. DreamFactory securely stores the credentials of back-end data sources and exposes these data sources as a standard REST interface. The REST API includes live API documentation and example applications for various development environments.

Server-Side Scripting

Any non-trivial application requires server-side logic. DreamFactory provides server-side scripting with the V8 Javascript Engine, Node.js, PHP, and Python. DreamFactory makes it easy to write server-side scripts and attach your scripts to any API request and response event. DreamFactory also provides the flexibility to use server-side scripts to implement your own custom API endpoints.

Security Controls

DreamFactory’s user management system provides runtime security on all API calls and server-side scripts. The user management system includes an administrative application to manage end users, role-based access control to every API endpoint API (including table-level and record-level access to databases), OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory integration for authentication and authorization. Under the hood, DreamFactory handles secure password hashing, authentication, and session handling for you with secure API keys and JSON Web Tokens (JWT).

Benefits

DreamFactory helps development teams in a number of ways, summarized here.

Front-end Developers

  • Focus on front-end development rather than working on (or waiting on) server-side software
  • Connect to new data sources in minutes with just a few clicks
  • Access multiple data sources with RESTful ease and automatic security
  • Faster, less costly projects with instant, robust REST APIs

Back-end / API Developers

  • Automatically generate and document secure, reliable, and reusable REST APIs
  • Customize auto-generated APIs with pre- and post-processing scripting logic
  • Integrate with existing security controls like OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory so you don’t have to re-implement and test for each API
  • Easily move applications between clouds or between your cloud and data center

Enterprise Architects

  • Govern security with your own data access platform running in the cloud or on premises
  • Accelerate innovation with secure, scalable, reusable REST APIs to enterprise data sources
  • Enable a standard, unified API abstraction layer for modern apps that need to connect to legacy data sources that can't be readily changed
  • Improve application reliability and security enterprise-wide with managed REST services

Try DreamFactory Out

To install the DreamFactory open source package on a server or laptop, head on over to installation for instructions.