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Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Request

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/rɪˈkwest/nounCore term

In software engineering, request means: A message that a client sends to a server or API, asking it to do something such as return data or save a new record.

In Turkish: istek, talep

How it is used

Every API call is a request followed by a response. An HTTP request has a method (GET, POST…), a URL, headers and often a body. Common phrases: send a request, handle a request, the request timed out, bad request (status 400).

Example sentences

  1. The app sends a request to the pricing service every time the cart changes.

  2. Our server handles about 3,000 requests per second at peak time.

Common collocations

  • send a request
  • handle a request
  • request body
  • the request timed out
  • requests per second
  • responseThe message a server or API sends back after receiving a request, usually containing a status code, headers and data such as JSON.
  • APIShort for application programming interface: a set of rules that lets one program ask another program for data or actions in a fixed, documented way.
  • endpointA specific URL of an API that accepts requests for one kind of action, such as GET /users to list users or POST /orders to create an order.
  • payloadThe actual data carried by a request, response or message, as opposed to the headers and other information around it.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

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