Importance of Status Code in Web API
WebAPI
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In this article, let's learn about importance of status code in Web API.
Table of Contents
What is HTTP Status Code?
(HTTP) Status code is issued by a server in response to a client's request made to server.The first digit of the status code defines the class of response, while the last two digits do not have any classifying or categorization role.HTTP status codes are especially important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO.) They provide direct information on the health of a website and help pinpoint possible problems with requested content.
Why do we need HTTP Status Code?
- Whether the request worked out as expected
- What is responsible for failed request
Common Mistakes !!
- Don't send back 200 Ok when something is wrong
- Don't send back 500 InternalServerError when the client makes a mistake
There are different levels of status code. Let's look at the most commonly used one's in web API.
| Level | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| 1xx | Informational ⚠️ | I haven't used this so far in my API's |
| 2xx | Success ✅ | This can be used in GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE endpoints |
| 200 | Success | Ok() - Get Request |
| 201 | Created | Created() - Post Request |
| 204 | No Content | NoContent() - Put / Patch / Delete Request |
| 3xx | Redirects 🔃 | I haven't used this so far in my API's. But noticed this in browser network tab when redirect happens from http to https |
| 4xx | Client Mistake ❌ | This can be used to indicate the mistakes made by consumer of the API |
| 400 | Bad Request | BadRequest() - Wrong data input by client |
| 401 | Not Authenticated | Unauthorized() - Not signed in |
| 403 | Not Authorized | Forbid() - Signed in but dont have permission |
| 404 | Not Found | NotFound() - Resource not found |
| 409 | Conflict | Conflict() - Error on simultaneous update |
| 422 | Unprocessable Entity | UnprocessableEntity() - Error on data validation failures |
| 5xx | Internal Server Error 💥 | This can be used to indicate server faults and consumer can only retry later |
Summary
I'm happy that you have reached to the end of this article. Here we learnt what is HTTP Status Code and why do we need it and what are the common mistakes we do when it comes to returning status codes. We also saw a list of status codes. Hope you find this useful.