In this article, we will see difference between PathParam and QueryParam and how to decide whether to use PathParam vs QueryParam in rest api design.
 

Diff between PathParam and QueryParam

Path params are part of the url where as query parameters are added after the ? mark symbol and separated from other query parameters by & symbol.
 

PathParam example

GET http://base-url/students/{roll-number}

QueryParam example

GET http://base-url/students?grade=10

When to use @PathParam vs @QueryParam

This is not a standard, you can use anyone for designing restful api.

However, the commonly used convention is :

• Any required or mandatory attributes should be added as path param
• Any optional attributes should be added as query param
• params used for filtering data are usually used as query param

Path param example

Finding employee with ID = 12345

GET http://base-url/employees/{12345}

Query param example

Finding active employees with title as developer

GET http://base-url/employees?title=developer&status=active

Both Path params and Query params

GET ://base-url/dept/1/employees/title=developer

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