API Design · Middle · Question 60 of 75

How should an API expose actions on many items, like 'archive 500 messages'?

1With 500 separate DELETE requests
2With a GET request containing all IDs
✓Correct answer: With a batch endpoint (e.g. POST /messages:batchArchive with IDs) within a size limit, possibly as an async job for large batches

Explanation

Batch endpoints reduce overhead; limits and async processing protect the server.

Further reading

Google API Improvement Proposals (AIP) ↗

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