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Besides GET requests, there are also POST and PATCH. How do you understand the difference between them?

sobes.tech AI

Answer from AI

Main differences between GET, POST, and PATCH:

GET — used to retrieve data from the server. GET requests should be idempotent and not change the server's state. For example, fetching a list of users.
POST — used to create new resources or perform operations that change the server's state. POST requests are not idempotent; a repeated request may create duplicates.
PATCH — used for partial updates to an existing resource. Unlike PUT, which usually replaces the entire resource, PATCH modifies only specified fields. PATCH requests can be idempotent if implemented correctly.

Example:

POST /users
{
  "name": "Ivan",
  "email": "ivan@example.com"
}

PATCH /users/123
{
  "email": "newemail@example.com"
}

GET /users/123

POST creates a new user, PATCH updates the email of an existing user, GET retrieves user data.