I would say the real power is the simplicity of stateless programming. It's easier to debug and easier to code, thus stronger and faster development. I think

I would say the real power is the simplicity of stateless programming. It's easier to debug and easier to code, thus stronger and faster development. I think a lot of devs assume it just about "using HTTP to its true potential" which is incidental. Other protocols could be implemented in a restful manner.