Abstract
Require Content-Type header on POST requets
Status
Open; based on APP draft 09
Rationale
Getting back a HTTP status 415 ("Unsupported Media Type") is much more helpful than an HTTP status 500.
Proposal
Between the first and second sentence of section 8.1, insert "The Content-Type header is required in the Request." The revised first paragraph would now read:
8.1 Creating resources with POST To add members to a collection, clients send POST requests to the collection's URI. The Content-Type header is required in the Request. Collections MAY impose constraints on the media-types of request entities POSTed to the collection and MAY generate a response with a status code of 415 ("Unsupported Media Type").
Impacts
Makes life significantly easier for the server at essentially no cost to the client.
Notes
Content-Type is a SHOULD for messages with bodies, per RFC2616, section 7.2.1. The APP amounts to a profile of HTTP, and may pose additional constraints.