We have a highly efficient library written in a low-level programming language. We would like to allow third parties to implement a GUI for it.
The approach we would like to take is to write a REST server. The GUI (written in whatever language) needs to start the server and is then able to use the library.
As said, the goal is to create a local desktop application, so the server should only listen to the localhost and the GUI (the latter may be solved via auth).
Is there a reason such an approach is not used more often (I hardly couldn't find anything)? The only place it is mentioned seems to be The Modern Application Stack – Part 3: Building a REST API Using Express.js as "... MERN (MongoDB, Express, React, Node.js) Stacks, why you might want to use them, and how to combine them to build your web application (or your native mobile or desktop app)."
Are there tutorials or special architectural patterns?
I found the following resources:
Is there a reason such an approach is not used more often (I hardly couldn't find anything)
. Having a server for a single client (itself) is utterly unecessary and overkill.