HTTP METHOD categorization cancel vs. delete

Question

In an API, what HTTP METHOD should be used for a cancel operation.

I imagine this wouldn't be a DELETE request, because the resource is not being disposed of. In which case, should it be a POST or a PUT ? Here is some documentation, but I still am not clear on the distinction from this: http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec9.html

RFC 2616 is irrelevant. You may want to read RFC 7231. – Julian Reschke Nov 23 '14 at 09:28 — Julian Reschke, Nov 23 '14 at 09:28

score 11 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:27

11

This isn't a DELETE. Cancelling an operation is a state change and a state change means an update.

I would personally use a PUT because you normally know the URI of the resource you are updating.

Also see this post for more details: PUT vs POST in REST.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:27

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answered Nov 29 '14 at 08:30

Bogdan

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HTTP METHOD categorization cancel vs. delete

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