HTTP response code when DELETE request is not permitted

rubyonrails-talk
1

Hi there,

If a DELETE request on a resource fails because constraints prevent the resource from being deleted, what should the correct HTTP response code be?

There appears to be a lot of contention about this on the web, but I'm unable to find a 'definitive guide' for the sort of REST API I'm developing. Perhaps someone could point me in the right direction?

I'm currently of the opinion that 403 Forbidden is the best option, although 405 Method Not Allowed sounds equally appropriate, or perhaps even 409 Conflict.

Advice appreciated.

Thanks Olly

2

I believe 403 is an authentication header, as in 'your login failed'. 405 means the DELETE method itself isn't allowed. ActiveResource uses 409 for locking conflicts, and 422 for validation errors.

According to rfc 2616, it sounds like 409 would be your best bet:

The request could not be completed due to a conflict with the current state of the resource. This code is only allowed in situations where it is expected that the user might be able to resolve the conflict and resubmit the request.

http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec10.html

That sounds better than 422, unprocessable entity:

The request was well-formed but was unable to be followed due to semantic errors.

There are many ways to interpret that though. I think the key is to document it well and stick to it.

3

I agree -- 409 it is.

Thanks Rick.