Hello coders! Today's tutorial is a simple one relating to back-end programming. If you haven't read it, please refer to my Beginner's Intro to Back-end Programming for some essential background info.
Okay, so let's dive into the topic~
Types of HTTP Requests
So if you recall, in my Beginner's Intro to Back-end Programming, I wrote that a HTTP Request is when a browser makes a request to the server to ask for some information. This is known as a 'GET' request.
But sometimes, the request may not be about retrieving info from the server, but also updating information to the server. This is called a 'PUT' request. Hence, they are called HTTP Request Methods to specify what type of action the browser wants to do with the server.
A HTTP Request method specifies the desired action the browser wants to do with the server.
So, there's a GET and PUT. What else?
Here's a simple and concise list of the common HTTP request methods.
GET: Retrieve and read data from server.
PUT: Update and replace data on the server.
POST: Creating data and submitting it to the server.
PATCH: Update and modify data on the server.
DELETE: Remove data from server.
Of course, note that this is a brief summary so I encourage you to learn more and start reading about it here.
Now that you know the common HTTP Request methods, let's try using them with an example.
Example: POST
As usual, let's install axios to make HTTP requests.
npm install axios
Then, let's say we want to create a new mail for an email app and POST it to our database. The code will be:
const axios = require('axios'); //so that we can use axios
axios.post('/send', {
sender: 'victoria@example.com',
receiver: 'person@example.com',
subject: 'hello there',
message: 'this is an example'
})
.then(function (response) {
console.log(response);
})
.catch(function (error) {
console.log(error);
});
And in our server.js file, we run
npm install express
to handle the request.
const express = require('express') //don't forget this
const app = express()
app.post('/send', function (req, res) {
let sender = req.body.sender
let receiver = req.body.receiver
let subject = req.body.subject
let message = req.body.message
//do something here
})
app.listen(3000) //port number
And that is a simple example of a POST request. You can make the server do whatever you want it to do in the
//do something here
like maybe saving the posted mail to a database or sending it to the receiver. I have a mail sender tutorial about that actually (here it is!).
The possibilities of using GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE are endless and that's what makes back-end programming so useful in making powerful apps!
And that's all for now!
Thanks for taking the time to read this tutorial. I hope this is a helpful yet simple illustration to show the different types of HTTP request methods and how you can use them for your projects. It takes a little bit of practice but once you are familiar with them, you can build RESTful APIs!
Please ask any questions you have in the comments below. I am more than willing to help. If this is helpful in any way, please like and share it around! Good luck with coding and cheers!
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