[Term Entry] Python Requests Module: .patch() #7361

content/python/concepts/requests-module/terms/patch/patch.md

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+---
+Title: '.patch()'
+Description: 'Sends a PATCH request to a specified URL to partially update a resource.'
+Subjects:
+  - 'Code Foundations'
+  - 'Computer Science'
+Tags:
+  - 'Methods'
+  - 'Modules'
+  - 'Python'
+CatalogContent:
+- 'learn-python-3'
+- 'paths/computer-science'
+---
+
+The **`.patch()`** method in the `requests` module is used to send a `PATCH` request to a specified URL, allowing for partial modifications of a resource. When only a subset of data needs to be updated, this method is particularly efficient, as `PATCH` can modify specific fields without requiring the replacement of the entire resource, unlike `PUT` from the [`.put()`](https://www.codecademy.com/resources/docs/python/requests-module/put) method, which overwrites the entire object.
+
+## Syntax
+
+```pseudo
+requests.patch(url, data=None, json=None, **kwargs)
+```
+
+**Parameters:**
+
+- `url`: URL to which the request is sent.
+- `data`: (optional) Dictionary, list of tuples, bytes, or file-like object that contains the data to send.
+- `json`: (optional) A JSON serializable Python object that will be sent as a JSON formatted string.
+- `kwargs`: Additional keyword arguments that can be passed to the method (e.g. `headers`, `auth`, etc.).
+
+**Return value:**
+
+The method returns a `Response` object, which contains various information about the HTTP response returned by the server after processing the `PATCH` request.
+
+## Example 1
+
+In this example, the `.patch()` method is used to send a `PATCH` request to a REST API of a user management system in order to update a user's profile. The user's current data is modeled as a JSON object:
+
+```json
+{
+  "id": 53,
+  "name": "Lorem Ipsum",
+  "email": "[email protected]"
+}
+```
+
+We just want to update the user's email address without changing the other fields:
+
+```py
+import requests
+
+# URL of the API endpoint for the user
+url = 'https://api.example.com/users/53'
+
+# Updated user field
+updated_data = {
+  "email": "[email protected]"
+}
+
+# Sending the PATCH request
+response = requests.patch(url, json=updated_data)
+
+# Checking the response
+if response.status_code == 200:
+  updated_user = response.json()
+  print("User updated successfully:", updated_user)
+else:
+  print("Failed to update user:", response.status_code, response.text)
+```
+
+A conditional `if-else` statement is used in this case to output a message indicating a successful data update, when the server status code is `200`, or an unsuccessful update otherwise.
+
+For a updating multiple fields, it is sufficient to store all the attributes in the JSON object, as seen in the `updated_multi` variable, and pass it to the `patch()` method:
+
+```py
+updated_multi = {
+  "email": "[email protected]",
+  "telephone": "+00123456789"
+}
+
+response = requests.patch(url, json=updated_multi)
+```
+
+## Example 2
+
+In the following example, custom headers (such as an Authorization token) are included in the `PATCH` request:
+
+```py
+import requests
+
+url = "https://api.example.com/resource/17"
+
+data = {
+  "description": "This is an updated resource description."
+}
+
+headers = {
+  "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN",
+  "Content-Type": "application/json"
+}
+
+response = requests.patch(url, json=data, headers=headers)
+
+if response.status_code == 200:
+  print("Resource updated successfully:", response.json())
+else:
+  print("Failed to update resource, status code:", response.status_code)
+```
+
+## Codebyte Example
+
+In this example, the `.patch()` method sends a `PATCH` request to a public test API to update a resource’s title:
+
+```codebyte/python
+import requests
+
+# Public test API endpoint (JSONPlaceholder)
+url = 'https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1'
+
+# Data to update
+data = {'title': 'Updated Title'}
+
+# Sending the PATCH request
+response = requests.patch(url, json=data)
+
+print(response.status_code)  # Expect 200 if successful
+print(response.json())       # Prints simulated updated resource
+```