How would you handle error responses in a REST API?

Short answer: Return proper status codes and a structured error object: 👉 Example in ASP.NET Core: { "status": 400, "error": "Invalid Request", "details": "Email field is required" }

Real-world example (ShopNest)

Creating an order is POST /api/orders → 201 with Location header. Fetching is GET /api/orders/{id} → 200 or 404.

Say this in the interview

1. Define — one clear sentence (the short answer above).
2. Example — relate it to a project like ShopNest or your real work.
3. Trade-off — when you would not use it.