@RequestParam vs @PathVariable

Question

What is the difference between @RequestParam and @PathVariable while handling special characters?

+ was accepted by @Re

Answer 1

1) @RequestParam is used to extract query parameters

http://localhost:3000/api/group/test?id=4

@GetMapping("/group/test")
public ResponseEntity test(@RequestParam Long id) {
    System.out.println("This is test");
    return ResponseEntity.ok().body(id);
}

while @PathVariable is used to extract data right from the URI:

http://localhost:3000/api/group/test/4

@GetMapping("/group/test/{id}")
public ResponseEntity test(@PathVariable Long id) {
    System.out.println("This is test");
    return ResponseEntity.ok().body(id);
}

2) @RequestParam is more useful on a traditional web application where data is mostly passed in the query parameters while @PathVariable is more suitable for RESTful web services where URL contains values.

3) @RequestParam annotation can specify default values if a query parameter is not present or empty by using a defaultValue attribute, provided the required attribute is false:

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/home")
public class IndexController {

    @RequestMapping(value = "/name")
    String getName(@RequestParam(value = "person", defaultValue = "John") String personName) {
        return "Required element of request param";
    }

}