A Small, Complete API
Time to assemble the pieces: a users API with the five classic endpoints —
POST /users create · GET /users list · GET /users/{id} read one · PUT /users/{id} replace · DELETE /users/{id} remove.
One PHP-shaped decision: each request runs the router script fresh, so the data cannot live in a variable between requests. Real APIs keep state in a database; here a small JSON file plays that role — the router loads it, changes it, saves it back. The handlers would keep their shape if the file were swapped for a real database.
Create and List
POST decodes the incoming JSON, gives the user an id, stores it, and answers 201 with the created record — id included, so the client learns it. GET returns everyone as a JSON array.
POST /users and GET /users
Two creations, then the list: each POST answers 201 with the stored user, and the final GET shows both — the API's state grew with each request.
Prompt
Write a PHP script implementing the create and list part of a users REST API with a router script and a JSON file as the store: POST /users decodes the body, assigns an id and answers 201 with the created user; GET /users answers with the JSON array of all users. Serve it with the built-in server, create Ana and Ben, list them, and print every status and body.
Output: PHP script
index.php
<?php
// The store lives in a JSON file - each request runs the script fresh.
$router = <<<'PHP'
<?php
$storeFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-create-and-list-store.json";
$users = json_decode(file_get_contents($storeFile), true);
$method = $_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"];
$path = parse_url($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], PHP_URL_PATH);
header("Content-Type: application/json");
if ($method === "POST" && $path === "/users") {
$input = json_decode(file_get_contents("php://input"), true);
if (!is_array($input) || !isset($input["name"])) {
http_response_code(400);
echo '{"error": "invalid JSON"}' . "\n";
return;
}
$user = ["id" => count($users) + 1, "name" => $input["name"]];
$users[] = $user;
file_put_contents($storeFile, json_encode($users));
http_response_code(201);
echo json_encode($user) . "\n";
} elseif ($method === "GET" && $path === "/users") {
echo json_encode($users) . "\n";
} else {
http_response_code(404);
}
PHP;
function httpRequest(string $url, string $method = "GET", array $headers = [], ?string $body = null): array {
$options = ["method" => $method, "ignore_errors" => true];
if ($headers !== []) {
$options["header"] = implode("\r\n", $headers);
}
if ($body !== null) {
$options["content"] = $body;
}
$responseBody = file_get_contents($url, false, stream_context_create(["http" => $options]));
return [(int) explode(" ", $http_response_header[0])[1], $responseBody, $http_response_header];
}
$storeFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-create-and-list-store.json";
file_put_contents($storeFile, "[]"); // start empty
$routerFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-create-and-list.php";
file_put_contents($routerFile, $router);
// A free port, then PHP's built-in web server as a child process.
$probe = stream_socket_server("tcp://127.0.0.1:0");
$port = (int) explode(":", stream_socket_get_name($probe, false))[1];
fclose($probe);
$server = proc_open(["php", "-S", "127.0.0.1:$port", $routerFile],
[1 => ["file", "/dev/null", "w"], 2 => ["file", "/dev/null", "w"]], $pipes);
do {
usleep(20000);
$up = @fsockopen("127.0.0.1", $port);
} while ($up === false);
fclose($up);
$base = "http://127.0.0.1:$port";
foreach (["Ana", "Ben"] as $name) {
[$status, $body] = httpRequest("$base/users", "POST",
["Content-Type: application/json"], json_encode(["name" => $name]));
echo "POST /users -> $status " . trim($body) . "\n";
}
[$status, $body] = httpRequest("$base/users");
echo "GET /users -> $status " . trim($body) . "\n";
proc_terminate($server);
proc_close($server);
unlink($routerFile);
unlink($storeFile);
Read One, Replace, Delete
The /users/{id} routes complete the set: read answers 200 or 404, replace decodes the new data into the existing id, delete answers 204. After the delete, the same GET that worked before honestly returns 404 — the resource is gone.
GET, PUT and DELETE on /users/{id}
The full life of one resource: read it, replace it (the response carries the new name), delete it, and fail to read it — every step with the correct status code.
Prompt
Write a PHP script implementing GET, PUT and DELETE for /users/{id} over a JSON file store seeded with one user: GET answers 200 or 404 with JSON, PUT replaces the user keeping the id, DELETE answers 204. Serve it with the built-in server and run the full lifecycle - read, replace, delete, read again - printing each method, status and body.
Output: PHP script
index.php
<?php
// GET, PUT and DELETE for one resource over a JSON file store.
$router = <<<'PHP'
<?php
$storeFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-one-user-lifecycle-store.json";
$users = json_decode(file_get_contents($storeFile), true);
$method = $_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"];
$segments = explode("/", trim(parse_url($_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"], PHP_URL_PATH), "/"));
$id = $segments[1] ?? "";
if ($method === "GET") {
header("Content-Type: application/json");
if (!isset($users[$id])) {
http_response_code(404);
echo '{"error": "user not found"}' . "\n";
return;
}
echo json_encode($users[$id]) . "\n";
} elseif ($method === "PUT") {
$input = json_decode(file_get_contents("php://input"), true);
if (!is_array($input) || !isset($input["name"])) {
http_response_code(400);
echo '{"error": "invalid JSON"}' . "\n";
return;
}
$users[$id] = ["id" => (int) $id, "name" => $input["name"]];
file_put_contents($storeFile, json_encode($users));
header("Content-Type: application/json");
echo json_encode($users[$id]) . "\n";
} elseif ($method === "DELETE") {
unset($users[$id]);
file_put_contents($storeFile, json_encode($users));
http_response_code(204);
}
PHP;
function httpRequest(string $url, string $method = "GET", array $headers = [], ?string $body = null): array {
$options = ["method" => $method, "ignore_errors" => true];
if ($headers !== []) {
$options["header"] = implode("\r\n", $headers);
}
if ($body !== null) {
$options["content"] = $body;
}
$responseBody = file_get_contents($url, false, stream_context_create(["http" => $options]));
return [(int) explode(" ", $http_response_header[0])[1], $responseBody, $http_response_header];
}
$storeFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-one-user-lifecycle-store.json";
file_put_contents($storeFile, '{"1": {"id": 1, "name": "Ana"}}');
$routerFile = sys_get_temp_dir() . "/pc-one-user-lifecycle.php";
file_put_contents($routerFile, $router);
// A free port, then PHP's built-in web server as a child process.
$probe = stream_socket_server("tcp://127.0.0.1:0");
$port = (int) explode(":", stream_socket_get_name($probe, false))[1];
fclose($probe);
$server = proc_open(["php", "-S", "127.0.0.1:$port", $routerFile],
[1 => ["file", "/dev/null", "w"], 2 => ["file", "/dev/null", "w"]], $pipes);
do {
usleep(20000);
$up = @fsockopen("127.0.0.1", $port);
} while ($up === false);
fclose($up);
$base = "http://127.0.0.1:$port";
$steps = [
["GET", "/users/1", null],
["PUT", "/users/1", '{"name": "Ana Maria"}'],
["DELETE", "/users/1", null],
["GET", "/users/1", null],
];
foreach ($steps as [$method, $path, $payload]) {
$requestHeaders = $payload === null ? [] : ["Content-Type: application/json"];
[$status, $body] = httpRequest("$base$path", $method, $requestHeaders, $payload);
printf("%-6s %s -> %d %s\n", $method, $path, $status, trim($body));
}
proc_terminate($server);
proc_close($server);
unlink($routerFile);
unlink($storeFile);