PUT vs. PATCH: An Illustration of the Differences

In the world of web development, particularly when working with RESTful APIs, the HTTP methods PUT and PATCH are often used to update resources. While they might seem similar at first glance, they serve different purposes and are used in distinct scenarios. This article will explore the differences between PUT and PATCH and provide examples to illustrate their usage.

PUT Method
An entire resource can be updated or replaced with PUT. Sending the resource’s whole representation to the server is what PUT is all about. PUT can generate a new resource if the current one isn’t there. If the resource already exists, the new data will totally replace it.

Characteristics of PUT

Idempotent: Calling PUT multiple times will have the same effect as calling it once.
Complete Replacement: It replaces the entire resource with the new data provided.
Resource URI: PUT is typically used to update a specific resource identified by a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier).

Example
Consider a user resource with the following representation.

Request

Response

In this example, the PUT request replaces the entire user resource with the new data. If the name field were omitted in the request, it would be removed from the resource, and only the fields provided would be updated.

PATCH Method

PATCH is used to make partial updates to a resource. Unlike PUT, PATCH only updates the fields provided in the request. This is useful when you only need to change a specific part of a resource without affecting the rest.

Characteristics of PATCH

Not Necessarily Idempotent: While PATCH can be idempotent, it’s not always guaranteed to be.
Partial Update: It updates only the specified fields of the resource.
Resource URI: PATCH is also used to update a specific resource identified by a URI.

Example

Consider the same user resource.

Request

Response

In this example, the PATCH request updates only the email field of the user resource. The name field remains unchanged, and only the specified field is modified.

When to Use PUT vs PATCH?

Use PUT when you need to replace the entire resource or when you are creating a new resource at a specific URI.
Use PATCH when you need to make partial updates to a resource without affecting other fields.

Summary

PUT: Replaces the entire resource or creates it if it doesn’t exist.
PATCH: Makes partial updates to the resource.

ASP.NET 8.0.7 Hosting Recommendation

ASP.NET is a powerful platform for creating web applications and services. You must be comfortable with JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and C# before developing a web application in ASP.NET. On the market, there are thousands of web hosting companies providing ASP.NET Hosting. But, only very few web hosting companies could provide high quality ASP.NET hosting solution.

ASP.NET is the best development language in Windows platform, which is released by Microsoft and widely used to build all types of dynamic Web sites and XML Web services. With this article, we’re going to help you to find the best ASP.NET Hosting solution in Europe based on reliability, features, price, performance and technical support. After we reviewed about 30+ ASP.NET hosting providers in Europe, our Best ASP.NET Hosting Award in Europe goes to HostForLIFE.eu, one of the fastest growing private companies and one of the most reliable hosting providers in Europe.