Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · APIs, Networking and Security

Status code

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˈsteɪtəs koʊd/nounCommon term

In software engineering, status code means: A three-digit number in an HTTP response that tells the client what happened, such as 200 for success, 404 for not found or 500 for a server error.

In Turkish: durum kodu, HTTP durum kodu

How it is used

Developers read and return status codes and often say just the number: 'I'm getting a 401', 'It returns a 500.' Codes in the 4xx range mean a problem with the request; 5xx codes mean a problem on the server.

Example sentences

  1. The endpoint should return status code 201 when the order is created.

  2. Check the status code first; the body is empty when it's a 204.

Common collocations

  • return a status code
  • HTTP status code
  • error status code
  • check the status code
  • 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.
  • RESTShort for representational state transfer: a common style for web APIs in which resources have URLs and are handled with HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT and DELETE.
  • authenticationThe process of checking who a user or system is, for example with a password, a token or a fingerprint, before giving access.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: APIs, Networking and Security

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: