Content type negotiation in Spring Boot - Cheat Sheet & Quick Revision

Recall & Review

beginner

What is content type negotiation in Spring Boot?

Content type negotiation is a process where Spring Boot decides the format (like JSON or XML) to send in the response based on the client's request headers or URL parameters.

beginner

Which HTTP header does Spring Boot use to determine the desired response format?

Spring Boot uses the 'Accept' HTTP header sent by the client to decide the response content type.

intermediate

How can you configure Spring Boot to support content type negotiation via URL path extensions?

You can enable path extension support by configuring a ContentNegotiationConfigurer in Spring Boot, allowing URLs like '/data.json' or '/data.xml' to specify the response format.

intermediate

What role do HttpMessageConverters play in content type negotiation?

HttpMessageConverters convert Java objects to the requested format (like JSON or XML) and vice versa, enabling Spring Boot to produce the correct response type during content negotiation.

beginner

What happens if the client requests a content type that the server cannot produce?

Spring Boot responds with HTTP status 406 Not Acceptable, indicating it cannot provide the requested content type.

Which header does Spring Boot check to decide the response format?

A Authorization

B Content-Type

C Accept

D User-Agent

The 'Accept' header tells the server what content types the client can handle.

What is the default response format if no content type is specified?

A JSON

B XML

C HTML

D Plain text

Spring Boot defaults to JSON if no specific content type is requested.

How can clients specify the desired response format besides the Accept header?

A Using the Content-Length header

B Using cookies

C Using the Host header

D Using URL path extensions like .json or .xml

URL path extensions can indicate the desired format if configured in Spring Boot.

What HTTP status code indicates the server cannot produce the requested content type?

A 500 Internal Server Error

B 406 Not Acceptable

C 404 Not Found

D 403 Forbidden

406 Not Acceptable means the server cannot provide the requested content type.

Which Spring Boot component converts Java objects to JSON or XML?

A HttpMessageConverter

B Controller

C Service

D Repository

HttpMessageConverters handle converting Java objects to the requested response format.

Explain how Spring Boot decides which content type to send in a response.

Think about what the client sends and how Spring Boot matches it.

Describe what happens when a client requests a content type that Spring Boot cannot produce.

Consider how the server tells the client it can't fulfill the request.