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intermediate Phase · API Design Interview

HTTP Method Selection

Choose the right HTTP method for each operation.

25m
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HTTP Methods

Method Mapping

Operation Method URL
List products GET /products
Get product GET /products/{id}
Create product POST /products
Update product PUT /products/{id}
Delete product DELETE /products/{id}
Archive product POST /products/{id}/archive

Key Points

  • Understanding API Design: HTTP Methods is essential for production systems
  • Always consider scalability and maintainability
  • Test thoroughly before deploying to production
  • Monitor performance and set up alerting

Common Patterns

  1. Validation: Always validate input at the boundary
  2. Error Handling: Use structured error responses
  3. Logging: Log key events for debugging
  4. Testing: Unit, integration, and load tests
  5. Documentation: Keep docs updated with code changes

API Best Practices

Design Principles

  • Use nouns, not verbs
  • Plural resource names
  • Consistent naming conventions
  • Proper HTTP status codes

Versioning

  • URI versioning (/v1/resource)
  • Header versioning
  • Deprecation policy

Documentation

  • OpenAPI/Swagger specs
  • Request/Response examples
  • Error code documentation
  • Rate limit documentation

Key Points

  • Understanding API Design: HTTP Methods is essential for production systems
  • Always consider scalability and maintainability
  • Test thoroughly before deploying to production
  • Monitor performance and set up alerting

Common Patterns

  1. Validation: Always validate input at the boundary
  2. Error Handling: Use structured error responses
  3. Logging: Log key events for debugging
  4. Testing: Unit, integration, and load tests
  5. Documentation: Keep docs updated with code changes

Practice Problems

0 / 3 solved
Implement API Design: HTTP Methods

Design and implement a solution for API Design: HTTP Methods in a backend system. Consider scalability, error handling, and production readiness.

Solution 
// API Design: HTTP Methods implementation
// Key aspects: validation, error handling, logging, testing

public class APIDesignHTTPMethods {
    // Production-ready implementation
}
API Design: HTTP Methods Edge Cases

Identify and handle edge cases for API Design: HTTP Methods. What happens under high load, with invalid input, or during failures?

Solution 
// Edge case handling:
// 1. Null/empty input -> validation
// 2. High load -> rate limiting, queuing
// 3. Failures -> retries, circuit breaker
// 4. Concurrent access -> locks, idempotency
API Design: HTTP Methods Testing Strategy

Write a testing strategy for API Design: HTTP Methods. Include unit tests, integration tests, and performance tests.

Solution 
// Test plan:
// - Unit: 80% coverage target
// - Integration: API contracts
// - Performance: latency, throughput
// - Chaos: failure injection

Quiz

1. Update uses?

Question 1 options

2. Custom action like "archive" uses?

Question 2 options

3. What is a common mistake when implementing API Design: HTTP Methods?

Question 3 options

Flashcards

Question

Update method?

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Answer

PUT (full) or PATCH (partial)

Question

Custom action?

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Answer

POST to action endpoint

Question

API Design: HTTP Methods best practices

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Answer

Follow SOLID principles, write clean code, test thoroughly, document decisions, and monitor in production.

Revision Notes

Key Takeaways

  • 1. GET: read, POST: create, PUT: full update, PATCH: partial, DELETE: remove
  • 2. Custom actions: POST /resource/{id}/action
  • 3. Idempotent: GET, PUT, DELETE

Interview Tips

  • • Map operations to methods
  • • Handle custom actions

Cheat Sheet

HTTP Methods

  • GET: read, POST: create
  • PUT: full update, PATCH: partial
  • DELETE: remove
  • Custom: POST /resource/{id}/action