HTTP PATCH Methods

In the world of web programming, the methods are among the essential elements in HTTP that assist programmers in performing specific actions on web resources. One of these methods is PATCH. You may have heard about the methods GET, POST, and PUT before, but the PATCH method is specifically used for updating partial resources. This means that instead of sending the entire object to the server, only the parts that need to be changed are sent.

Using PATCH is usually in cases where small and specific changes are needed; it is the method used for this purpose. For example, imagine that you are editing a user profile and only need to change the user's email address. Instead of sending the entire profile information to the server, you can only send the new email.

This method is highly regarded among programmers because of the low data transfer level required. Therefore, in a situation where you need to update a small section of a resource, the PATCH method could be a very suitable choice.

The PATCH method is also very popular in RESTful APIs. The reason is that it is faster and generally requires less data transfer compared to the PUT method, which sends the entire resource again. PATCH is generally used for optimization and improving the performance of applications.

However, it should be noted that using it correctly and securely requires adhering to established standards and necessary reviews. Especially in cases where data protection and information security are critical.

To illustrate the use of the PATCH method in an API, let's look at an example:

PATCH /users/123 HTTP/1.1
Host: example.com
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "email": "[email protected]"
}

In this code: