> A true implementation of a REST client is simply not possible
Sure it is, it's just not very interesting to a programmer. It's the browser. That's why there was no need talk about client implementations. And why it's hypermedia driven. It's implicit in the description that it's meant to be discoverable by humans.
AirBnb rediscovered REST when they implemented their Server Driven UI Platform. Once you strip away all the minutiae about resources and URIs the fundamental idea of HATEOS is ship the whole UI from the server and have the client be generic (the browser). Now you can't have the problem where the frontend gets desynced with the backend.
> It's the browser.
This cannot be overstated.
I'm watching with some interest to see if the LLM/MCP crowd gradually reinvents REST principles. LLMs are the only software we have invented yet which is smart enough to use a REST interface.