Help please.

[Anonymous]

I have been studying for this exam from SCWCD Exam Kit. However, I thought it
would be nice if I even slove all the questions of the other book by SYBEX
publications. Frankly, I couldn't even read a paragragh of the book b'coz of
thw quality but I think my confidence just got dumped after just solving first
chapter.
I just have couple of questions if anyone can answer as I feel that the book
is wrong.
1. Which of the following tasks should not be performend by using a GET request?
A. Updating a Database
B. Retrieving an Image
C. Accessing a Website
D. Sending Credit card information
Book says A and D however I think it should be C as well, what do you say?
2. Which of the following is not a valid option for a GET request?
A. To get a file or image
B. To get results from a compilation
C. To get information from another hardware device
D. To get output from another program running on the server
E. None of the above.
Book says E. But I thougt one cannot retrieve a file and never a image with
GET request, please clarify.
Thanks a lot.

[g madhava]

Coming to the first question,
1. Which of the following tasks should not be performend by using a GET request?
A. Updating a Database
B. Retrieving an Image
C. Accessing a Website
D. Sending Credit card information
Book says A and D however I think it should be C as well, what do you say?
Accessing a website is usually done by POST method,but it's not mandatory. Take a close look at the question,it says "should not be".
2. Which of the following is not a valid option for a GET request?
A. To get a file or image
B. To get results from a compilation
C. To get information from another hardware device
D. To get output from another program running on the server
E. None of the above.
Book says E. But I thougt one cannot retrieve a file and never a image with GET request, please clarify.
What you said is right.That's what the answer states. Again read the question once again "Which of the following ***is NOT *** a valid option for a GET request?"
thanks,

[Bernd Stransky]

Hi,
Just looking at GET and POST:
- both are used to request data from a web server. this data might be static html pages, dynamically generated html, images. In additional, a request might initiate additional actions at the server.
- The response back looks the same for GET and POST.
They differ in the way they send a request to the web server:
- both send the URL (the resource requested) the same way
- GET sends additional parameters of a request by appending these parameters to the request URL - this is visible to the user and has a certain size limit.
- POST on the other hand sends additional parameters as part of the so called request body. This is not visible to the end user (except someone uses a sniffer) and has no size limitation.
Looking at your first question:
1. Which of the following tasks should not be performend by using a GET request?
A. Updating a Database
-> Might be large amount of data: POST
B. Retrieving an Image
-> Can be done both by POST or GET, no difference in the response.
C. Accessing a Website
-> Can be done both by POST or GET
D. Sending Credit card information
-> sensible info, should be hidden inside the HTTP request, not visible to user: POST

Second question:
2. Which of the following is not a valid option for a GET request?
A. To get a file or image
-> Both POST and GET can retrieve resources of type file (assuming html or it needs to make sense somehow for the browser) and images. The contents type defines (text/gif etc) what type of resource is being sent back.
B. To get results from a compilation
-> This refers to dynmaic generated HTML code (JSP, servlet), for the GET request, how the response data was created is of no importance - as long as client and server stick to the HTTP protocol.
C. To get information from another hardware device
-> I was a bit sceptic about this one. But well I guess as long as the device has an IP address, HTTP server and speak HTTP protocol - GET does not care. A bit tricky though.
D. To get output from another program running on the server
-> Again, how, from where the response comes from does not bother GET.
E. None of the above.
-> so this is it.

Hope this helps,
Bernd
SCJP

[Guennadiy VANIN]

Hi, Nehal,
I am beginner, so I am here rather to blow doubts than answer...

Originally posted by Nehal Koticha:
1. Which of the following tasks should not be performend by using a GET request?
A. Updating a Database
B. Retrieving an Image
C. Accessing a Website
D. Sending Credit card information
Book says A and D however I think it should be C as well, what do you say?

Well, m.b. you missed *not*.
If not, then I would like to remind that:

From "Core Servlets and J.S.P.", p.21:
GET requests, for those unfamiliar with HTTP, are the usual type of browser requests for Web pages. A browser generates this request when the user types a URL on the address line, follows a link from a Web page, or submits an HTML form that does not specify a METHOD

Originally posted by Nehal Koticha:
2. Which of the following is not a valid option for a GET request?
A. To get a file or image
B. To get results from a compilation
C. To get information from another hardware device
D. To get output from another program running on the server
E. None of the above.
Book says E. But I thougt one cannot retrieve a file and never a image with
GET request, please clarify.

The image is just a file of certain format. Why such a bias against images? I am just dying from curiosity...