API Input/Output Validation Quiz: Catch Those Errors! Quiz

1. Invalid Data Type

   What is the best approach to handle a request where an API expects an integer, but receives a string?

   1. Ignore the error and proceed with default values.
   2. Attempt to automatically convert the string to an integer, regardless of its content.
   3. Return an HTTP 200 OK status with a warning message in the response body.
   4. Return an HTTP 400 Bad Request status with a clear error message indicating the invalid data type.
   5. Silently log the error on the server and continue processing with a null value.

2. Missing Required Field

   An API endpoint requires a 'user_id' parameter. What HTTP status code is most appropriate to return if this parameter is missing in the request?

   1. 200 OK
   2. 500 Internal Server Error
   3. 404 Not Found
   4. 400 Bad Request
   5. 403 Forbidden

3. JSON Schema Validation

   What is a common tool or technique used to define and enforce the structure and data types of JSON data for API requests and responses?

   1. XML Schema Definition (XSD)
   2. JSON Web Token (JWT)
   3. JSON Schema
   4. Regular Expressions (Regex)
   5. YAML

4. Sanitizing Input

   Why is input sanitization important when validating API inputs?

   1. To ensure the input data is aesthetically pleasing.
   2. To prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) and SQL injection attacks.
   3. To improve the speed of data processing.
   4. To automatically correct user spelling errors.
   5. To compress the size of the input data.

5. Rate Limiting

   What is the primary purpose of rate limiting in API design?

   1. To improve the server's physical security.
   2. To prevent denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and excessive usage.
   3. To encrypt API requests and responses.
   4. To automatically generate API documentation.
   5. To reduce server costs by limiting request size.

6. Output Validation

   What is the purpose of validating API output?

   1. To ensure the server's operating system is up to date.
   2. To verify that the API is returning the expected data structure and values.
   3. To automatically translate the output into different languages.
   4. To reduce the amount of data transmitted over the network.
   5. To automatically fix errors in the underlying database.

7. Error Logging

   Why is it important to log API errors?

   1. To comply with legal regulations regarding data storage.
   2. To debug issues, monitor API health, and identify potential security threats.
   3. To automatically generate invoices for API usage.
   4. To improve the server's cooling efficiency.
   5. To make it easier for users to find documentation.

8. Custom Error Messages

   What is a key benefit of providing custom, user-friendly error messages in API responses?

   1. They improve the server's performance.
   2. They help developers understand and resolve issues more quickly.
   3. They automatically fix the errors in the request.
   4. They reduce the size of the API response.
   5. They prevent users from accidentally triggering errors.

9. Input Trimming

   Why is trimming whitespace from user input a good practice in API validation?

   1. It reduces the size of the data being transmitted.
   2. It can prevent unexpected errors due to leading or trailing spaces.
   3. It automatically translates input into different languages.
   4. It enhances the aesthetic appearance of the data.
   5. It encrypts the input data for security purposes.

10. Content Type Header

    If an API is designed to only accept JSON requests, what should the API do if it receives a request with a 'Content-Type' header of 'application/xml'?

    1. Automatically convert the XML to JSON.
    2. Ignore the header and treat the request body as JSON.
    3. Return an HTTP 200 OK with a warning message.
    4. Return an HTTP 415 Unsupported Media Type error.
    5. Process the request as if it were JSON and hope for the best.