REST API with Accept Header application/json returns a number

Question

Novice Question:

I have a rest api in my application : https://hostname/app-rest/session/manager/active-session/count. The API returns the number of sessions with certain attributes like connection type, status, etc.

When I set the request header Content-Type: application/json, response header Accept: application/json and send a request with body like: {"loggedIn": "yes", connectionType" : "mobile"}, I get a response with a number 0, 1, 2 etc.

QUESTION: Based on this: http://json.org/, it seems that the response is a valid JSON format. However, is this good design practice? Isn't it preferable to return the value in a key value pair format so that all clients can understand and parse the response - instead of assuming that the client has the knowledge of what is returned by the API ?

Community · Accepted Answer · 2021-10-07 08:58:39Z

3

According to the original RFC, a number on its own is not a valid JSON text. JSON must always begin with { or [ (optionally preceded by some whitespace characters).

There is a new RFC that revises this by allowing any JSON value to be an entire JSON text. If you go by this RFC, then a number on its own is calid JSON.

For the time being I would recommend returning an object, with a key describing the meaning of the number returned, since that will conform to both RFCs.

edited Oct 7, 2021 at 8:58

CommunityBot

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answered Jan 6, 2015 at 16:37

Paul

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