HTTP Request Methods
The most common HTTP request methods are GET and POST. Let's take a closer look at these methods, and also study other, rarer methods. The description of other methods is quite general. The fact is that these methods are widely used and the HTTP protocol only indicates their general purpose. So, here is a description of the methods:
| Method | Description |
|---|---|
| GET | The GET method is the main method used most often. It is used to simply retrieve pages. |
| POST | The POST method is used to transfer user data. For example, a site visitor wants to leave a comment on an article. In this case, the client must make a request using the POST method. In this case, the user's comment will be sent in the body of the request. And the server will save this comment and in response will return the article page, which will contain all previously left comments and our new one. Also, using the POST method, files are usually uploaded to the server. |
| HEAD | The HEAD method requests a page in the same way as the GET method, but receives only headers in response, without the response body. |
| DELETE | The DELETE method explicitly indicates to the server that the client wants to delete the data stored on the server for the given URI. |
| PATCH | The PATCH method explicitly indicates to the server that the client wants to modify the data stored on the server for the given URI. |
| PUT |
The PUT method explicitly tells the server that the client wants to upload data to the server for the given URI.
The fundamental difference between the POST and PUT methods is in the understanding of the purposes of the specified URIs. The POST method assumes that the specified URI will be used to process the content transmitted by the client. Using PUT, the client assumes that the content being downloaded corresponds to the resource located at the specified URI. |
Real life
In real life, servers only support the GET and POST methods well. Therefore, the GET method is used both to retrieve data and to delete and change it. And the POST method is used both to load data for processing and to change and delete data.
