Explain HTTP methods and your usage

Q: Explain HTTP methods and your usage

This is a System Design interview question from Tesla for Software Engineer roles. View the full question and solution on PracHub.

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Question

HTTP Methods, Idempotency, Safety, and Practical Use

Context

You design and consume RESTful APIs for high-throughput services. Explain the core HTTP request methods and how their properties influence API design, reliability, and client behavior.

Tasks

List the main HTTP request methods and briefly describe each: GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS (and optionally CONNECT, TRACE).
Define and contrast idempotency and safety. Explain why these properties matter for retries, caching, and consistency.
For each method, state whether it is safe and/or idempotent, give typical use cases, and call out common pitfalls.
Which methods do you use most in typical backend development and why? Provide rationale tied to read/write patterns, CORS, health checks, and reliability.

Explain HTTP methods and your usage

HTTP Methods, Idempotency, Safety, and Practical Use

Context

Tasks

Solution (Locked)

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