Hypothetically, with PUT, whatever you send to the server should now comprise the entirety of that resource. So if all you PUT is a last name to /people/4335, t

Hypothetically, with PUT, whatever you send to the server should now comprise the entirety of that resource. So if all you PUT is a last name to /people/4335, then all of a sudden person 4335 consists of nothing more than a last name alone in the void, and not even blank fields beside. With PATCH, on the other hand, you can confidently send the value of just one updated field, without your users worrying about their metaphysical well-being.