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Request():delete()

Execute a DELETE request and return a Response object. This method is used to delete a resource from a server.

Signature​

delete(): Response

Returns

Response - The response object containing the server response

Description​

The delete() method sends an HTTP DELETE request to the URL specified when creating the Request object. DELETE requests are typically used to remove existing resources from a server, such as deleting a user, post, or any other data entity.

Examples​

Basic DELETE Request​

-- Delete a user with ID 123
local response = Request("https://api.example.com/users/123"):delete()

DELETE Request with Authentication​

-- Delete a post with authorization
local response = Request("https://api.example.com/posts/456")
    :setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer your-token-here")
    :setHeader("Accept", "application/json")
    :delete()

Processing DELETE Response​

-- Delete a comment and handle the response
local response = Request("https://api.example.com/comments/789")
    :setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer your-token-here")
    :delete()

local data = response:getData()
local statusCode = response:getResponseCode()

if statusCode == 204 then
    print("Comment deleted successfully! (No content)")
elseif statusCode == 200 then
    print("Comment deleted successfully!")
    print("Response: " .. data)
else
    print("Failed to delete comment. Status: " .. statusCode)
end

DELETE with Additional Headers​

-- Delete a resource with custom headers
local response = Request("https://api.example.com/files/document.pdf")
    :setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer token123")
    :setHeader("X-Delete-Reason", "User requested deletion")
    :setHeader("Accept", "application/json")
    :delete()

local status = response:getResponseCode()
if status == 200 or status == 204 then
    print("File deleted successfully")
else
    print("Delete failed with status: " .. status)
end

Conditional Delete​

-- Delete only if resource hasn't been modified
local response = Request("https://api.example.com/data/123")
    :setHeader("If-Match", "etag-value-here")
    :setHeader("Authorization", "Bearer token")
    :delete()

local status = response:getResponseCode()
if status == 412 then
    print("Delete failed: Resource has been modified")
elseif status == 200 or status == 204 then
    print("Resource deleted successfully")
end

Notes​

  • DELETE requests typically don't have a request body
  • Successful DELETE operations usually return:
    • 200 OK with a response body describing the deletion
    • 202 Accepted if the deletion is processed asynchronously
    • 204 No Content if the deletion was successful with no response body
  • The method returns a Response object which you can use to access the response data and status code
  • Always check the response status code to ensure the request was successful
  • DELETE requests are idempotent - making the same request multiple times should have the same effect (the resource is deleted)
  • Be careful when using DELETE requests as they permanently remove data