This tutorial explores the fundamentals of HTTP requests, including methods, headers, and status codes. Perfect for developers diving into web APIs or network programming!

Key Concepts 🔑

  • HTTP Methods:

    • GET: Retrieve data (✅ Safe, idempotent)
    • POST: Submit data (⚠️ Not safe, non-idempotent)
    • PUT: Update resources (✅ Idempotent)
    • DELETE: Remove resources (✅ Idempotent)
    • PATCH: Partial updates ( ✅ Idempotent)
  • Request Headers:

    • Content-Type (e.g., application/json)
    • Accept (e.g., text/html)
    • User-Agent (browser/OS information)
    • Authorization (for authenticated requests)
  • Status Codes:

    • 200 OK: Success
    • 404 Not Found: Resource missing
    • 500 Internal Server Error: Server issue

Example Flow 🧭

  1. Client sends a GET request to /api/data
  2. Server responds with 200 OK and JSON payload
  3. Client processes the data using Content-Type: application/json
http_request_flow

Practical Tips 💡

  • Always set Content-Type for proper data parsing
  • Use POST for operations that modify server state
  • Check HTTP Methods for detailed comparisons

For hands-on practice, try building a simple API with Node.js or Python Flask! 🚀