HTTP methods: the verbs

Every request carries a method — a verb that says what kind of action you want. There are several, but four cover almost everything, and they map neatly onto everyday ideas:

• GET — "give me this." Reading, fetching, viewing. Loading a page or a list. GET should never change anything; it just retrieves.
• POST — "here's something new." Creating. Submitting a form, signing up, posting a comment.
• PUT — "update this." Changing something that already exists, like editing your profile. (You'll also hear PATCH for partial updates — same idea, smaller scope.)
• DELETE — "remove this." Exactly what it sounds like — deleting a record or a file.

If you remember nothing else: GET reads, POST creates, PUT updates, DELETE removes. When your app misbehaves, knowing which verb was sent is often the first clue.