What is the purpose of status codes in REST APIs?
A) To indicate the result of the HTTP request
B) To format the data in a specific way
C) To define the structure of the API
D) To secure the API
Answer:
A) To indicate the result of the HTTP request
Explanation:
Status codes in REST APIs are used to indicate the result of an HTTP request. These codes are part of the HTTP protocol and provide standardized responses to clients, helping them understand whether a request was successful, failed, or if some other action is required.
Common status codes include:
- 200 OK: The request was successful.
- 201 Created: A new resource was successfully created.
- 400 Bad Request: The request was malformed or invalid.
- 401 Unauthorized: The client is not authenticated.
- 404 Not Found: The requested resource could not be found.
- 500 Internal Server Error: The server encountered an error.
These status codes help clients handle responses appropriately and ensure that they can react to different outcomes.