200-901 Understanding and Using APIs Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

• ✗

  PUT

  Why it's wrong here

  PUT replaces the entire target resource with the enclosed representation, so omitted fields are overwritten or cleared rather than left untouched. It tempts because PUT does update an existing resource at a known URI, which is the correct choice when sending a complete replacement representation.

• ✗

  DELETE

  Why it's wrong here

  DELETE removes the resource identified by the request URI; it carries no representation for modifying individual fields, so it cannot perform a partial update. It tempts because DELETE targets an existing resource and is idempotent, matching the update method's idempotent nature.

• ✗

  POST

  Why it's wrong here

  POST creates a new subordinate resource or submits data to an endpoint, and its semantics are neither safe nor idempotent, so it cannot express a partial modification of an identified resource. It tempts because POST bodies can carry a subset of fields, which resembles patching.

• ✓

  PATCH

  Why this is correct

  PATCH applies partial modifications to an existing resource, sending only the fields being changed. PUT would replace the entire resource representation, so PATCH uniquely satisfies the stem's requirement to partially update a resource without overwriting unspecified attributes.

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