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Code Smell 302 - Misleading Status Codes
- Returning a successful HTTP status when the actual result contains an error confuses API consumers and leads to problems like status code confusion, debugging difficulty, client error handling issues, API contract violations, and inconsistent behavior.
- Solutions include matching status to content, using proper error codes, following HTTP standards, implementing consistent responses, testing status codes, separating metadata from payload, avoiding mixing success and errors, and defining a clear contract.
- Improper HTTP status codes can cause monitoring systems to detect issues improperly, and breaking changes may be required to fix this issue.
- Maintaining a clear correspondence between HTTP status codes and actual results ensures consistent error handling and reliable APIs.
- AI code generators might create this issue by focusing on the happy path and returning 200 for all responses without proper error handling instructions.
- Always ensure that status codes accurately reflect the outcome of operations to maintain the implicit contract provided by HTTP.
- Proper handling of HTTP status codes is essential for error handling, monitoring, and client behavior in API design.
- Improper status codes can lead to silent failures and incorrect behaviors downstream, undermining trust in the API response.
- Misleading status codes create inconsistencies and make APIs harder to integrate with and maintain over time.
- The article emphasizes the importance of maintaining a one-to-one relationship between HTTP status codes and actual business results for clarity and predictability.
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