Question 1

What are HTTP methods?

Accepted Answer

HTTP methods (also called verbs) indicate the desired action to be performed on a resource. The most common are GET (retrieve), POST (create), PUT (replace), PATCH (modify), and DELETE (remove). They are defined in the HTTP specification (RFC 7231).

Question 2

What is the difference between PUT and PATCH?

Accepted Answer

PUT replaces an entire resource with a new representation — you send the full object. PATCH applies a partial modification — you send only the fields that should change. PATCH is more bandwidth-efficient for small updates.

Question 3

What does idempotent mean?

Accepted Answer

An HTTP method is idempotent if making the same request multiple times produces the same result as making it once. GET, PUT, and DELETE are idempotent. POST is not — sending it twice may create two resources.

Question 4

Is GET a safe method?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Safe methods (GET, HEAD, OPTIONS) do not modify server state — they only retrieve data. This allows browsers and caches to prefetch or cache GET responses safely.