PUT and DELETE HTTP methods are used to update and remove existing resources on a server, enabling full CRUD operations in RESTful APIs.
- PUT updates an existing resource by replacing or modifying its data.
- DELETE removes a resource permanently from the server.
- Both methods are idempotent, meaning repeated requests produce the same result.
PUT Request
The PUT HTTP method is used to update existing resources on a server by sending the modified data in the request body.
- Updates an existing user’s data.
- Requires a unique identifier (e.g., user ID).
- Sends updated fields in the request body.
- Returns the updated resource or a success message.
- Commonly used with servers running on localhost during development.
Update the Data
The PUT method is used to modify existing user information by sending updated data to the server.
- Updates data for a specific user using an ID.
- Sends the new values in the request body.
Example: To change the name of a user with ID 1, you can send a request like this.
{
"id": 1,
"name": "Nicol"
}The following code snippet shows only the PUT logic inside an HTTP server.
- This request will update the name of the user with ID 1 in the database.
- If the user is found, their name is updated with the new name from the request.
DELETE Request
The DELETE method is used to remove an existing user from the server.
- Identifies the user using a unique ID.
- Removes the user from the users array permanently.
The following code snippet shows only the DELETE logic inside an HTTP server.
- After the DELETE request is sent, the user is removed from the users list, and a confirmation message is returned.
- Status code 204 indicates successful deletion with no response body.
Setup the Server
We are using a Node.js server running on localhost:3000. Here is the complete server.js file.
Note: POST is used here only for demonstration but in REST APIs, GET is preferred for fetching resources.
Stateless Design in REST APIs
REST APIs follow a stateless architecture, where each client request is processed independently without relying on stored session data.
- Each request contains all required information.
- The server does not maintain client state.
- Application state is stored in the database, not in memory.
