DELETE for removing resources in Rest API - Mini Project: Build & Apply

DELETE for Removing Resources in REST API

📖 Scenario: You are building a simple REST API for a library system. The API manages books, and you want to allow users to remove books from the collection when they are no longer available.

🎯 Goal: Build a REST API endpoint that allows deleting a book resource by its ID using the DELETE HTTP method.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a dictionary called books with exact book entries

Add a variable book_id_to_delete to specify which book to remove

Write code to delete the book with the given ID from the books dictionary

Print the updated books dictionary after deletion

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

APIs often need to remove resources like users, products, or posts. Using DELETE requests is the standard way to do this.

💼 Career

Understanding how to remove resources safely and correctly is essential for backend developers and API designers.

1

DATA SETUP: Create the initial books dictionary

Create a dictionary called books with these exact entries: 1: 'The Hobbit', 2: '1984', 3: 'Pride and Prejudice'

Rest API

# Create the books dictionary with the given entries
# Your code here

Hint

Use curly braces {} to create a dictionary with keys as numbers and values as book titles.

2

CONFIGURATION: Specify the book ID to delete

Create a variable called book_id_to_delete and set it to 2 to indicate the book to remove

Rest API

books = {1: 'The Hobbit', 2: '1984', 3: 'Pride and Prejudice'}
# Set the book_id_to_delete variable to 2
# Your code here

Hint

Just assign the number 2 to the variable book_id_to_delete.

3

CORE LOGIC: Delete the book from the dictionary

Use the del statement with books[book_id_to_delete] to remove the book with the given ID

Rest API

books = {1: 'The Hobbit', 2: '1984', 3: 'Pride and Prejudice'}
book_id_to_delete = 2
# Delete the book with ID 2 from books
# Your code here

Hint

Use del followed by the dictionary key access to remove the entry.

4

OUTPUT: Print the updated books dictionary

Write print(books) to display the dictionary after deletion

Rest API

books = {1: 'The Hobbit', 2: '1984', 3: 'Pride and Prejudice'}
book_id_to_delete = 2
del books[book_id_to_delete]
# Print the updated books dictionary
# Your code here

Hint

Use the print() function to show the current state of the books dictionary.

Practice

1. What is the main purpose of the HTTP DELETE method in REST APIs?

easy

A. To remove a resource identified by a URL

B. To create a new resource on the server

C. To update an existing resource

D. To retrieve data from the server

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand HTTP methods

   HTTP methods define actions on resources. DELETE is specifically for removal.

2. Step 2: Identify DELETE's role

   DELETE removes the resource at the given URL, unlike POST (create), PUT/PATCH (update), or GET (retrieve).

3. Final Answer:

   To remove a resource identified by a URL -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   DELETE = remove resource [OK]

Hint: DELETE always removes resource at the URL, no body needed [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing DELETE with GET or POST
• Thinking DELETE requires a request body
• Assuming DELETE creates or updates data

2. Which of the following is the correct syntax to send a DELETE request to remove a user with ID 123 using curl?

easy

A. curl -X GET https://api.example.com/users/123

B. curl -X PUT https://api.example.com/users/123

C. curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users/123

D. curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/users/123

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify HTTP method for deletion

   DELETE method is used to remove resources, so -X DELETE is correct.

2. Step 2: Check URL and method usage

   The URL targets user 123, and curl uses -X to specify method. So, curl -X DELETE URL is correct.

3. Final Answer:

   curl -X DELETE https://api.example.com/users/123 -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   curl DELETE syntax = curl -X DELETE URL [OK]

Hint: Use curl -X DELETE followed by resource URL [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using GET or POST instead of DELETE
• Omitting the -X flag for method
• Using PUT which is for updates

3. Given this Python code using requests library:

import requests
response = requests.delete('https://api.example.com/items/45')
print(response.status_code)

What will be printed if the item was successfully deleted?

medium

A. 201

B. 404

C. 200

D. 500

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand HTTP status codes for DELETE

   Successful DELETE usually returns 200 (OK) or 204 (No Content). 200 means success with response body.

2. Step 2: Check options for success code

   Among options, 200 indicates success. 404 means not found, 500 server error, 201 created (not for DELETE).

3. Final Answer:

   200 -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   DELETE success = 200 OK [OK]

Hint: Successful DELETE usually returns 200 or 204 status code [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing 201 (created) with success for DELETE
• Assuming 404 means success
• Ignoring status code meanings

4. Consider this JavaScript fetch code to delete a post:

fetch('https://api.example.com/posts/10', {
  method: 'DELETE',
  body: JSON.stringify({ id: 10 })
})
.then(res => res.status)
.then(console.log)

What is the main issue with this code?

medium

A. The URL is incorrect

B. DELETE requests should not have a body

C. The method should be GET

D. Missing headers for JSON content

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand DELETE request body rules

   DELETE usually does not require a request body; many servers ignore or reject it.

2. Step 2: Identify the problem in code

   The code sends a JSON body with DELETE, which is often unnecessary and may cause errors.

3. Final Answer:

   DELETE requests should not have a body -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   DELETE usually no body [OK]

Hint: Avoid sending body with DELETE requests [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Adding unnecessary body to DELETE
• Confusing method with GET or POST
• Forgetting to check server docs for DELETE body support

5. You want to delete multiple resources in one request using REST API. Which approach is best practice?

hard

A. Send multiple DELETE requests, one per resource URL

B. Send a single DELETE request with a JSON array body listing IDs

C. Use POST method with action=delete and list of IDs in body

D. Use GET method with query parameters to delete resources

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand REST principles for DELETE

   DELETE targets a single resource URL. Bulk delete is not standardized and often unsupported.

2. Step 2: Evaluate options for bulk deletion

   Sending multiple DELETE requests (one per resource) is standard and reliable. Other methods misuse HTTP verbs or semantics.

3. Final Answer:

   Send multiple DELETE requests, one per resource URL -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   One DELETE per resource URL [OK]

Hint: Delete resources one by one with separate DELETE requests [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to send bulk delete in one DELETE with body
• Using POST or GET to delete resources
• Assuming server supports bulk delete by default