If you want to put HTTP methods in terms of SQL CRUD then think of it this way. POST is like a INSERT on a table with a auto incrementing primary key, you inse

If you want to put HTTP methods in terms of SQL CRUD then think of it this way. POST is like a INSERT on a table with a auto incrementing primary key, you insert the data into the table and the SQL server tells you what the data is identified as. When you POST to a web service, the web service tells you what the data is identified as. For SQL: INSERT INTO people (first, last) VALUES ("Eric", "Moritz"); SELECT id FROM people WHERE first = "Eric" and last = "Moritz"; For HTTP: > POST /people/ > Content-Type: application/json > > {"first": "Eric", "last": "Moritz"} < HTTP/1.1 201 Created < Content-Location: /people/1 < < {"first": "Eric", "last": "Moritz"} PUT can function like an UPDATE on a table using it's primary key. For instance: For SQL: UPDATE people set first = "Eric" where id = 1; For HTTP: > PUT /people/1/first > Content-Type: text/plain > > Eric < HTTP/1.1 200 OK < Content-Type: application/json < < Eric A PUT can also be used to create a resource: For SQL: INSERT INTO people (id, first, last) VALUES (1, "Eric", "Moritz"); For HTTP: > PUT /people/1 > Content-Type: application/json > > {"first": "Eric", "last": "Moritz"} < HTTP/1.1 201 Created < < {"first": "Eric", "last": "Moritz"}