How to create a REST controller

In the previous recipe, we learned how to set up dependencies for creating RESTful services. Finally, we launched our backend on the http://localhost:8080 endpoint but got 404 error as our application wasn't configured to handle requests at that path (/). We will start from that point and learn how to create a REST controller. Let's get started!

Getting ready

We will be using IntelliJ IDE for coding purposes. For setting up of the environment, refer to the previous recipe. You can also find the source in the repository at https://gitlab.com/aanandshekharroy/kotlin-webservices.

How to do it…

In this recipe, we will create a REST controller that will fetch us information about students in a college. We will be using an in-memory database using a list to keep things simple:

1. Let's first create a Student class having a name and roll number properties:

package college

class Student() {
    lateinit var roll_number: String
    lateinit var name: String
    constructor...