HTTP semantics for web API architectures
The HTTP contract decisions a web API architect makes: which header carries which meaning, how URI limits, redirects, the 100-continue handshake, resource creation, cookies and conditional range requests behave, and where Mule's HTTP Connector sets its own limits.
Create high-level integration architectures using web APIs and HTTP.
~8 min read · 7 practice questions
What the exam expects
- Separate the header that describes a request body from the header that asks for a response format.
- Diagnose a rejected request from its status code (414, 417, 416) and change the part of the request that was rejected.
- Pick the redirect status whose method-and-body behaviour and permanence match a requirement.
- Use the Expect: 100-continue handshake, the 201 Created plus Location pattern and multiple Set-Cookie fields correctly.
- Resume a large transfer safely with Range and If-Range, and read the 206 and 200 outcomes.
- Recognize where Mule's HTTP Connector applies its own header-size and status-code rules.
Content negotiation: the server picks one of the client's proposed formats and reports it in Content-Type. Media type: the MIME type of a body, such as application/json. Interim response: a 1xx status sent before the final one, such as 100 Continue. Entity tag (ETag): an identifier for a specific version of a resource. Range request: a request for part of a resource, answered with 206 Partial Content (Accept, Expect, ETag via If-Range, Range).
Key facts
- Detail
- Content-Type in a POST or PUT describes the content being sent.
- Detail
- Accept proposes types; the server reports its choice in Content-Type.
- Detail
- URI longer than the server is willing to interpret.
- Source
- 414 (opens in a new tab)
- Detail
- Request line plus headers, default 8192 bytes.
- Detail
- Error when the status code is 400 or above.
- Detail
- Redirected request is always GET.
- Detail
- Temporary; method and body guaranteed unchanged.
- Source
- 307 (opens in a new tab)
- Detail
- Server is ready to receive the request content.
- Detail
- New resource locatable by request URL or Location.
- Source
- 201 (opens in a new tab)
- Detail
- Several Set-Cookie headers in the same response.
- Detail
- 206 when fulfilled; full resource with 200 when not.
- Detail
- 416 Range Not Satisfiable.
Sources for this section (11)
- Content-Typedeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- Acceptdeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- 414developer.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- HTTP Requestdocs.mulesoft.com (opens in a new tab)
- Locationdeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- 307developer.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- Expectdeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- 201developer.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- Set-Cookiedeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- If-Rangedeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- Rangedeveloper.mozilla.org (opens in a new tab)
- When can a 414 response occur even though the client never built a long query string?
- Why does a 206 response for two requested ranges use multipart/byteranges?
- Why can frontend JavaScript in a browser not read a response's Set-Cookie header?
- Which status code tells a client that its requested byte ranges are invalid?
The questions are free to read. Answers with their sources and self-grading are included with the pack.
Keep reading with the MuleSoft Platform Integration Architect pack
- Core concepts
- Exam traps
- Worked scenario
The pack includes:
- All 40 lessons of the MuleSoft Platform Integration Architect guide, with reading progress
- Interactive decision walks and step-by-step sequence steppers
- Practice exams purchase adds inline bank questions and topic practice (7 questions for this lesson)
- An official source cited for every claim
- An AI tutor that answers from the guide
- Choose guide-only, practice-only, or save $4 with both