# POST and GET **URL:** \ **Category:** Rails\ **Created:** [August 2, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560 "2010-08-02T07:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/1 "2010-08-02T07:01:52Z")
HEY Guys, Im new to rails. Can someone help explain POST and GET inrails, and maybe give an example? When is it used? Im learning rails via Agile web Development with Rails, and soon to download peepcode video’s, are these good resources to learn from? Regards ---
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/2 "2010-08-02T07:16:46Z")
C=create=post=insert R=read=get=select U=update=put=update D=delete=delete=delete POST & GET are part of the http standard. Check out the fielding dissertation they’re two of I think 9 methods > **[HTTP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol)** > > The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, where hypertext documents include hyperlinks to other resources that the user can easily access, for example by a mouse click or by tapping the screen in a web browser. > Development of HTTP was initiated by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 and summarized in ... [http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/top.htm](http://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/top.htm) When you submit a form without an opaque query string you are POSTing. When you grab the variables from a query string you are getting your GET on. I just got the Agile WDwR beta copy. Interesting stuff. I would check out different API’s like Twitter, Gowalla, etc and see how they expose their data/we seb service. RESTful in peace, angel ---
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 7:35am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/3 "2010-08-02T07:35:30Z")
GET - typically used when you access a page via a link (ie you cut and paste into the web browser) - all the values (ie form arguments) get passed in the url itself ( delimited by the ampersand character) - example: when the following link is copied and pasted to the web browser, a GET request is generated and the values for distance,N,Make , state and so forth are passed in the url itself. [http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/MITSUBISHI/LANCER/private-results.aspx?distance=25&N=4294964597+0+4294966896+4294803479&Make=MITSUBISHI&state\_id=0&Model=LANCER&State=All%20States](http://www.carsales.com.au/used-cars/MITSUBISHI/LANCER/private-results.aspx?distance=25&N=4294964597+0+4294966896+4294803479&Make=MITSUBISHI&state_id=0&Model=LANCER&State=All%20States) POST - can only be generated by a form’s submit action/button - all the values (ie form arguments) get passed in the “params” hence in rails, you access the values via “params” - example: in search forms or registration forms, clicking the submit button generates a POST request to the web server Gordon Y. ---
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/4 "2010-08-02T17:05:11Z")
Also, a GET is just a read, while a POST is used to create. Like the Wikipedia article linked before says: > Note that GET should not be used for operations that cause side-effects, such as using it for taking actions in web applications. ---
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/5 "2010-08-03T05:09:12Z")
Adam S. wrote: > Also, a GET is just a read, while a POST is used to create. Like the > Wikipedia article linked before says: > > > Note that GET should not be used for operations that cause side-effects, such as using it for taking actions in web applications. Thanks guys this really helped out alot, Thank You 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@devrubygem](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/devrubygem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:01am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/post-and-get/192560/6 "2010-08-02T08:01:15Z")
To add, in relation to a GET request, there is a limit of number of characters that a url can be made of. > Cheers Gordon Y. 🙂