Comment by cryptonector

> The core problem it addresses is client-server coupling. There are probably countless projects where a small change in a server’s URI structure required a coordinated (and often painful) deployment of multiple client applications. A HATEOAS-driven approach directly solves this by decoupling the client from the server’s namespace. This addresses the quality of evolvability.

Eh, "a small change in a server’s URI structure" breaks links, so already you're in trouble.

But sure, embedding [local-parts of] URIs in the contents (or headers) exchanged is indeed very useful.