Replay Params

Our API is stateless, and each request/response is unique. The Advice represented in the response, however, does have a "state", which is communicated in the form of Variable outputs. For example, if an API request includes Income = 150000 and Income_Spouse = 150000, the API could return a Variable named Income_Total with a computed value of 300000.

Every API response comprises three key elements: Advice, Input Requests, and Variables. The connection between Input Requests and Variables is fundamental to our API design. For every Input Request (or question), there are potentially three (3) associated Variables. These Variables represent the 'state' of the response, providing developers with a comprehensive view of the API's functionality. Today, we're introducing a new API response property called replayParams. This property contains a hash of Variables needed to repeat or replay the state as it exists in the response.

We developed this in response to our client’s requests for a quick way to update the browser history with the current state. If the user refreshed their browser, assuming the URL parameters were hooked up to be sent to our API, they would get the same response.