Assess your understanding of PHP RESTful API development concepts including HTTP methods, status codes, endpoints, and best practices. This quiz is designed to help developers reinforce essential skills for building robust and efficient APIs using PHP.
Which HTTP method should be used to retrieve data from a PHP RESTful API without modifying any resources?
Explanation: The GET method is used for retrieving data from a RESTful API, ensuring no changes are made to the server state. POST is intended for creating new resources, DELETE removes resources, and PATCH is for making partial updates. Using anything other than GET to retrieve data goes against RESTful principles.
When a user wants to add a new item to a PHP-based RESTful API, which HTTP method should be used?
Explanation: POST is the correct method for creating resources via a RESTful API. While GET is for retrieving data, FETCH and REMOVE are not standard HTTP methods, and using them would not be recognized by REST conventions. POST ensures new data is submitted and processed appropriately.
Which HTTP status code should your PHP API return after successfully creating a new resource?
Explanation: A status code of 201 is the standard response for successful resource creation in a RESTful API. 404 indicates a resource was not found, 500 signals a server error, and 302 relates to redirects. Only 201 clearly communicates the successful creation event.
What is the recommended convention for naming endpoints that retrieve a list of books in a PHP RESTful API?
Explanation: Using '/books' aligns with RESTful best practices, utilizing plural nouns to represent collections. '/getBooks', '/book-listing', and '/find_books' use verbs or non-standard naming, which can reduce clarity and consistency in APIs.
What header should you set to ensure your PHP RESTful API response is sent as JSON?
Explanation: The header 'Content-Type: application/json' signals clients to expect a JSON-formatted response. 'Accept-Encoding: text/html' is for text data, 'Content-Type: text/xml' is for XML responses, and 'Accept-Language: en' relates to language preferences, not data format.
Which is the correct way to define a RESTful API endpoint in PHP for accessing a user by their ID?
Explanation: Using '/users/{id}' follows RESTful conventions to specify resources via path parameters. '/users?id={id}' uses query parameters, which is less preferred for unique resource access. '/user/id' lacks clarity, and '/fetchUserId' introduces unnecessary verbs.
If a client wants to update only the email address of a user resource in a PHP RESTful API, which HTTP method is most appropriate?
Explanation: PATCH is used for making partial updates, such as changing only the email field. PUT replaces the entire resource, GET retrieves data without updating, and OPTIONS describes the communication options but does not alter resources.
Which HTTP method signals your PHP API to permanently remove a resource?
Explanation: DELETE is the method for removing resources in RESTful APIs. GET retrieves resources, LINK and MERGE are not standard HTTP verbs for deletion and would be inappropriate choices here.
Which status code should your PHP API return when a client requests a non-existent resource?
Explanation: Returning 404 correctly signifies that the requested resource could not be found. Status 200 indicates success, 401 is for unauthorized access, and 503 represents server unavailability. 404 is specific to resource absence.
What is a recommended way to protect a PHP RESTful API from unauthorized access?
Explanation: Requiring an authentication token helps ensure that only permitted users can access the API. Typos in endpoint names, sending passwords in URLs, and disabling all HTTP methods are insecure or impractical methods for authentication and offer little protection.