CODEWITHSUNDEEP
resthttp-status-codes
corsiKa
corsiKa

Reputation: 82579

How to tell between a nonexistent service or a lack of a record?

I'm making some REST services, and as I'm implementing a GET request, I was debating about what I should do if there is no record there, for example /profile/1234. Now, if you tried to use /profiles/1234 (note the s on profiles) it would definitely be a 404 code because that URL definitely isn't found. But when it comes to there just being no 1234 profile, I'm not sure what I should return. I don't want to return {} because that might give the impression there is a record with no data. But if I return a 404 error code, how is the consumer of the API supposed to tell the difference between the two 404s?

How can I be a responsible API designer by communicating programmatically what the difference between a service that doesn't exist and a record that doesn't exist?

Upvotes: 3

Views: 82

Answers (1)

Chris Pfohl
Chris Pfohl

Reputation: 19064

You can send a custom status message which will help you differentiate between the "different" 404s.

On the other hand, I wouldn't worry about that distinction. People are used to having to type api endpoints carefully. As long as they manually test their app a tiny bit the issue becomes a non-issue.

Upvotes: 1

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