What is the purpose of HTTP methods in .NET Core API?
What is the purpose of HTTP methods in .NET Core API?
269
29-Oct-2023
Updated on 02-Nov-2023
Aryan Kumar
02-Nov-2023HTTP methods in ASP.NET Core APIs (and in web development in general) serve the purpose of defining the actions or operations that can be performed on resources. They indicate what kind of operation is being requested by a client when making an HTTP request to the API. In ASP.NET Core, the most commonly used HTTP methods include:
GET: The GET method is used to retrieve data from the server. It should not have any side effects on the server, meaning it should only retrieve data and not modify it. For example, it is used for reading information from a database or fetching resources like web pages.
POST: The POST method is used to submit data to be processed by the server. It often creates a new resource on the server, such as adding a new record to a database or submitting a form.
PUT: The PUT method is used to update or replace an existing resource with new data. It is idempotent, meaning that calling it multiple times with the same data will have the same result as calling it once.
PATCH: The PATCH method is used to apply partial modifications to a resource. It is often used to update only specific fields or properties of an existing resource, rather than replacing the entire resource.
DELETE: The DELETE method is used to request the removal or deletion of a resource from the server. It is used for deleting records, files, or other data on the server.
OPTIONS: The OPTIONS method is used to request information about the communication options available for a target resource. It is often used to check the allowed methods and headers for a resource.
HEAD: The HEAD method is similar to GET, but it requests only the headers of a resource without the actual data. It is useful for checking resource metadata or the availability of a resource.
CONNECT: The CONNECT method is typically used to establish network connections to a resource. It is not commonly used in typical API scenarios.
TRACE: The TRACE method is used for diagnostic and debugging purposes. It echoes back the request to the client, allowing it to see what changes may have been made by intermediaries.
These HTTP methods define the semantics of the requests made to an ASP.NET Core API and guide the server on how to process and respond to those requests. The combination of these methods with endpoints and routes allows developers to create RESTful APIs, where each resource corresponds to a URL, and HTTP methods define the operations that can be performed on those resources.