@PutMapping and @DeleteMapping in Spring Boot

Introduction

@PutMapping and @DeleteMapping help your web app handle updates and deletions of data easily. They connect web requests to your code actions.

When you want to update existing information like changing a user's email.

When you need to delete a resource, such as removing a product from a list.

When building REST APIs that follow common web standards for update and delete actions.

Syntax

Spring Boot

@PutMapping("/path")
public ResponseEntity<Type> updateMethod(@RequestBody Type data) {
    // update logic
}

@DeleteMapping("/path/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<Void> deleteMethod(@PathVariable Long id) {
    // delete logic
}

@PutMapping is for updating data, usually with a full new version of the resource.

@DeleteMapping is for removing data identified by a path variable like an ID.

Examples

Updates a user by ID with new user data sent in the request body.

Spring Boot

@PutMapping("/users/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<User> updateUser(@PathVariable Long id, @RequestBody User user) {
    // update user with id
}

Deletes a user identified by the ID in the URL path.

Spring Boot

@DeleteMapping("/users/{id}")
public ResponseEntity<Void> deleteUser(@PathVariable Long id) {
    // delete user by id
}

Sample Program

This simple controller stores users in memory. You can update a user's name or delete a user by their ID using @PutMapping and @DeleteMapping.

Spring Boot

import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.DeleteMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PutMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestBody;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

@RestController
public class UserController {
    private Map<Long, String> users = new HashMap<>();

    public UserController() {
        users.put(1L, "Alice");
        users.put(2L, "Bob");
    }

    @PutMapping("/users/{id}")
    public ResponseEntity<String> updateUser(@PathVariable Long id, @RequestBody String newName) {
        if (!users.containsKey(id)) {
            return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();
        }
        users.put(id, newName);
        return ResponseEntity.ok("User updated to: " + newName);
    }

    @DeleteMapping("/users/{id}")
    public ResponseEntity<String> deleteUser(@PathVariable Long id) {
        if (!users.containsKey(id)) {
            return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();
        }
        users.remove(id);
        return ResponseEntity.ok("User deleted with id: " + id);
    }
}

Important Notes

Use @PutMapping for full updates; partial updates usually use @PatchMapping.

Always check if the resource exists before updating or deleting to avoid errors.

Return proper HTTP status codes like 404 if the resource is not found.

Summary

@PutMapping handles updating existing data via HTTP PUT requests.

@DeleteMapping handles deleting data via HTTP DELETE requests.

Both help build clear and standard REST APIs in Spring Boot.