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Hey,
I have a REST based server, and in some cases I want to return a failure code (400 for example), BUT, I wish to add additional URL.
Something like – “failure, but here’s what you can do now..”
Is there any good convention to do so?
Is it even a good idea to return error with additional information?
Thanks,
Udi
It is always a good idea to return additional information in an error message. The HTTP spec itself says so: “Except when responding to a HEAD request, the server SHOULD include an entity containing an explanation of the error situation, and whether it is a temporary or permanent condition. These status codes are applicable to any request method. User agents SHOULD display any included entity to the user.”
One thing to watch out for: some versions of Internet Explorer will not show the user your additional error information if it is not a certain number of bytes. Make sure your response entities for error messages are at least 512 bytes to be sure.