What are RESTful conventions for HTTP status codes and error handling?

Short answer: 2xx Success → 200 (OK), 201 (Created). 4xx Client Errors → 400 (Bad Request), 401 (Unauthorized), 404 (Not Found). 5xx Server Errors → 500 (Internal Server Error), 503 (Service Unavailable). Error responses should include structured messages: { "status": 400, "error": "Invalid Data", "details": "Email 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.