What’s on the HTTP Methods poster
A 7-row table: Method · Safe · Idempotent.
Safe = changes nothing. Idempotent = doing it twice is the same as doing it once.
- GET — read — yes — yes
- HEAD — headers only — yes — yes
- OPTIONS — what is allowed — yes — yes
- PUT — replace whole — no — yes
- DELETE — remove — no — yes
- POST — create / act — no — NO
- PATCH — partial update — no — usually not
PUT replaces the whole resource; PATCH changes named fields. Sending a partial body to PUT deletes the rest.
Questions about the HTTP Methods poster
- What’s on the HTTP Methods poster?
- A 7-row table: Method · Safe · Idempotent. Safe = changes nothing. Idempotent = doing it twice is the same as doing it once. GET — read — yes — yes; HEAD — headers only — yes — yes; OPTIONS — what is allowed — yes — yes; PUT — replace whole — no — yes; DELETE — remove — no — yes; POST — create / act — no — NO; PATCH — partial update — no — usually not. PUT replaces the whole resource; PATCH changes named fields. Sending a partial body to PUT deletes the rest.
- Who is the HTTP Methods poster for?
- HTTP Methods belongs to the Computing section rather than to a school year, because computing is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning the web can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the HTTP Methods poster?
- Before adding a retry, check the idempotent column. Retrying a POST creates two of something. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so HTTP Methods belongs on the wall where that computing work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with HTTP Methods?
- Accessibility, ARIA and How a Browser Renders sit alongside HTTP Methods in the Computing section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.AccessibilityARIAHow a Browser Renders
- Is the HTTP Methods poster free to download and print?
- Yes. HTTP Methods downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Computing section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the HTTP Methods poster print at?
- HTTP Methods is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of HTTP Methods loses nothing.Printing guide
Related posters
Charts that sit alongside HTTP Methods on the same wall.
Browse every Computing poster, or start from the full catalogue.