HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) enables the data transmission between clients and servers. The GET and POST are two widely used HTTP methods that assist in client/server communication. The clients place a request, and the server returns a response (which contains the requested data) to that request.
Like other languages, jQuery practices the GET and POST methods to send the requests/data and receive the data/response. This article aims at the jQuery GET and jQuery POST methods with the following learning outcomes.
– working of GET and POST methods in jQuery
– comparison of jQuery GET and POST methods
jQuery GET method
The jQuery GET method makes a request to retrieve data from the server. Moreover, the requested data can be observed in the url and the data would be in key-value pairs. The syntax of this method is provided below.
The url refers to the address you want to make a request and get the response. Whereas the callback function is used to show the output on the successful execution of the GET method.
jQuery POST method
The jQuery POST method makes a request to the server alongside some data. For instance, a form that is being submitted with the POST method would store the form information on the server. The syntax of the POST method is provided below.
$.post(url,data,callback)
The url defines the url we want to make a request. The data parameter refers to the data that would be sent alongside the request. And the callback function can be used to show some output or do any processing on successful execution of the POST method.
Note: The data and callback parameters are optional
jQuery GET vs jQuery POST
Here you will get a head-to-head comparison of both methods.
| Factor | GET | POST |
| Idempotency | GET is idempotent The idempotent methods return the same result every time | The Post is non-idempotent and calling it various times produces different results. |
| Data Transmission | The data is limited to the number of characters supported by URL (2048) | No data limit for a POST method |
| Security | The data is displayed in the URL thus making it less secure | Provides a more secure data transmission in credentials-based processing |
| Bookmark/Cache | The data can be bookmarked/cached as it is visible in the URL | The data is not visible to the end user thus cannot be cookmarked/cached |
| Data types | Supports only ASCII (special characters, numbers, letters) characters | Supports Binary(images, videos, audios) as well as ASCII characters |
From the above table, you would have understood the difference between GET vs POST which will assist in choosing the method for HTTP based data transmission.
Conclusion
The GET method can be useful when you want to save the URL for future use whereas the POST method is beneficial in performing secure processing of sensitive data. The GET and POST are the most used methods to build communication between servers and clients. This article provides a detailed overview of the GET and POST methods and offers a head-to-head comparison of both methods.
