By default, your store will use DS.RESTAdapter to load and save records. The REST adapter assumes that the URLs and JSON associated with each model are conventional; this means that, if you follow the rules, you will not need to configure the adapter or write any code in order to get started.

URL Conventions

The REST adapter is smart enough to determine the URLs it communicates with based on the name of the model. For example, if you ask for a Post by ID:

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var post = App.Post.find(1);

The REST adapter will automatically send a GET request to /posts/1.

The actions you can take on a record map onto the following URLs in the REST adapter:

Pluralization Customization

Irregular or uncountable pluralizations can be specified via Ember.Inflector.inflector:

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Ember.Inflector.inflector.irregular('formula', 'formulae');
Ember.Inflector.inflector.uncountable('advice');

This will tell the REST adapter that requests for App.Formula requests should go to /formulae/1 instead of /formulas/1.

Endpoint Path Customization

Endpoint paths can be prefixed with a namespace by setting the namespace property on the adapter:

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DS.RESTAdapter.reopen({
  namespace: 'api/1'
});

Requests for App.Person would now target /api/1/people/1.

Host Customization

An adapter can target other hosts by setting the host property.

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DS.RESTAdapter.reopen({
  host: 'https://api.example.com'
});

Requests for App.Person would now target https://api.example.com/people/1.

JSON Conventions

When requesting a record, the REST adapter expects your server to return a JSON representation of the record that conforms to the following conventions.

JSON Root

The primary record being returned should be in a named root. For example, if you request a record from /people/123, the response should be nested inside a property called person:

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{
  "person": {
    "firstName": "Jeff",
    "lastName": "Atwood"
  }
}

Attribute Names

Attribute names should be camelized. For example, if you have a model like this:

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App.Person = DS.Model.extend({
  firstName: DS.attr('string'),
  lastName: DS.attr('string'),

  isPersonOfTheYear: DS.attr('boolean')
});

The JSON returned from your server should look like this:

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{
  "person": {
    "firstName": "Barack",
    "lastName": "Obama",
    "isPersonOfTheYear": true
  }
}

Irregular keys can be mapped on the adapter. If the JSON has a key of lastNameOfPerson, and the desired attribute name is simply lastName, inform the adapter:

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App.Person = DS.Model.extend({
  lastName: DS.attr('string')
});
DS.RESTAdapter.map('App.Person', {
  lastName: { key: 'lastNameOfPerson' }
});

Relationships

References to other records should be done by ID. For example, if you have a model with a hasMany relationship:

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App.Post = DS.Model.extend({
  comments: DS.hasMany('App.Comment', {async: true})
});

The JSON should encode the relationship as an array of IDs:

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{
  "post": {
    "commentIds": [1, 2, 3]
  }
}

Comments for a post can be loaded by post.get('comments'). The REST adapter will send a GET request to /comments?ids[]=1&ids[]=2&ids[]=3.

Any belongsTo relationships in the JSON representation should be the camelized version of the Ember Data model's name, with the string Id appended. For example, if you have a model:

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App.Comment = DS.Model.extend({
  post: DS.belongsTo('App.Post')
});

The JSON should encode the relationship as an ID to another record:

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{
  "comment": {
    "postId": 1
  }
}

Sideloaded Relationships

To reduce the number of HTTP requests necessary, you can sideload additional records in your JSON response. Sideloaded records live outside the JSON root, and are represented as an array of hashes:

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{
  "post": {
    "id": 1,
    "title": "Node is not omakase",
    "commentIds": [1, 2, 3]
  },

  "comments": [{
    "id": 1,
    "body": "But is it _lightweight_ omakase?"
  },
  {
    "id": 2,
    "body": "I for one welcome our new omakase overlords"
  },
  {
    "id": 3,
    "body": "Put me on the fast track to a delicious dinner"
  }]
}

Creating Custom Transformations

In some circumstances, the built in attribute types of string, number, boolean, and date may be inadequate. For example, a server may return a non-standard date format.

Ember Data can have new JSON transforms registered for use as attributes:

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App.CoordinatePointTransform = DS.Transform.extend({
  serialize: function(value) {
    return [value.get('x'), value.get('y')];
  },
  deserialize: function(value) {
    return Ember.create({ x: value[0], y: value[1] });
  }
});
App.Cursor = DS.Model.extend({
  position: DS.attr('coordinatePoint')
});

When coordinatePoint is received from the API, it is expected to be an array:

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{
  cursor: {
    position: [4,9]
  }
}

But once loaded on a model instance, it will behave as an object:

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var cursor = App.Cursor.find(1);
cursor.get('position.x'); //=> 4
cursor.get('position.y'); //=> 9

If position is modified and saved, it will pass through the serialize function in the transform and again be presented as an array in JSON.