Related resource links in Rest API - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

❓ Predict Output

intermediate

What is the output of this REST API response with related links?

Consider this JSON response from a REST API that includes related resource links. What will be the value of the related[0].href field?

Rest API

{
  "id": "123",
  "name": "Sample Item",
  "related": [
    {"rel": "author", "href": "/users/45"},
    {"rel": "comments", "href": "/items/123/comments"}
  ]
}

A "/users/45"

B "/items/123/comments"

C "author"

D "comments"

💡 Hint

Look at the first object inside the related array and find the href value.

The related array contains two objects. The first object has rel as "author" and href as "/users/45". So the value of related[0].href is "/users/45".

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Which HTTP header is commonly used to provide related resource links in REST APIs?

In REST APIs, which HTTP header is typically used to include links to related resources?

A Content-Type

B Link

C Authorization

D Cache-Control

💡 Hint

Think about headers that provide URLs or references to other resources.

The Link header is used to provide URLs to related resources, often with relation types like rel="next" or rel="author".

🔧 Debug

advanced

Why does this REST API response fail to provide related resource links correctly?

Examine this JSON response snippet. Why will clients fail to find related resource links?

Rest API

{
  "id": "789",
  "name": "Another Item",
  "related": {
    "rel": "comments",
    "href": "/items/789/comments"
  }
}

A The id field is required inside related

B The href value is missing a full URL scheme

C The related field should be an array, not an object

D The rel key is misspelled

💡 Hint

Think about how multiple related links are usually represented.

The related field is expected to be an array of link objects. Here it is a single object, which breaks the expected structure and can cause client errors.

📝 Syntax

advanced

Which option correctly formats related resource links in JSON?

Choose the JSON snippet that correctly represents multiple related resource links.

A { "related": [{ "rel": "author", "href": "/users/1" }, { "rel": "comments", "href": "/items/1/comments" }] }

B { "related": { "rel": "author", "href": "/users/1" }, { "rel": "comments", "href": "/items/1/comments" } }

C { "related": [ "rel": "author", "href": "/users/1", "rel": "comments", "href": "/items/1/comments" ] }

D { "related": [ { "rel": "author", "href": "/users/1" }, "rel": "comments", "href": "/items/1/comments" ] }

💡 Hint

Remember JSON arrays use square brackets and objects use curly braces.

Option A correctly uses an array of objects. Other options have syntax errors like misplaced commas or missing braces.

🚀 Application

expert

How many related resource links are present in this REST API response?

Given this JSON response, count how many related resource links it contains.

Rest API

{
  "id": "555",
  "name": "Complex Item",
  "related": [
    {"rel": "author", "href": "/users/10"},
    {"rel": "comments", "href": "/items/555/comments"},
    {"rel": "related", "href": "/items/556"}
  ]
}

A 4

B 2

C 1

D 3

💡 Hint

Count each object inside the related array.

There are three objects inside the related array, so there are three related resource links.