DELETE Requests
- Stephen Fuqua
An HTTP DELETE deletes an existing individual resource. DELETE is a required verb for non-read-only Resources.
Request URLs
The URL must end with a unique identifier for the given item to be replaced. A DELETE request could support query string parameters in the form of the natural key that uniquely identifies the item to be modified.
Note
The Ed-Fi Alliance's ODS/API Platform does not support deletes by natural key, though other implementations could choose to do so.
Request Headers
If the application supports ETags, then the application must support the If-Match request header. Example:
If-Match: 5250159352800270276
Request Body
DELETE requests do not have a request body.
Response Body
DELETE requests do not have a response body.
Applicable Status Codes
The following status codes must be supported for DELETEresponses:
Status Code | Meaning | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
204 | Accepted | The item was deleted. |
401 | Unauthorized | The request requires authentication. The OAuth bearer token was either not provided or is invalid. |
403 | Forbidden | The request cannot be completed in the current authorization context. |
404 | NotFound | The resource could not be found. |
405 | Not Allowed | Special cases where a verb is not allowed, for example in a read-only API. |
409 | Conflict | The request cannot be completed because it would result in an invalid state. |
500 | Server Error | An unhandled error occurred on the server. |
If ETags are supported, then code 412 (Precondition Failed) must also be supported, when the item's current server-side ETag value does not match the supplied If-Match header value in the request.
Other HTTP status codes may be used as needed for specific situations.