iOS Development: When making a POST request, does it really matter if I include parameters in the URL?

I'm using the ASIHTTPRequest lib in my iOS app for making REST requests to a web app. I'm doing my best to use the correct verbs (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) when making the various requests, but when making a POST request, I'm not sure I understand why it matters if I include the parameters in the POST request or in the URL. It works both ways, so why should I include the parameters in the POST request instead of just including them in the URL? As I understand it, the only reason for include the parameters in a POST request is to keep them from being visible in the URL in case someone is looking over your shoulder, or something like that. But if I'm making a POST request from my iOS app and there's no browser involved, then does it really matter which way I do it?

Thanks so much for your wisdom,开发者_StackOverflow中文版 I'm still learning!

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When using a POST request, it is good practice to put the parameters in the data instead of the URL. In your case, it works to put it in the URL, but this isn't always true. Some scripts will expect the parameters to be in a specific place and not find them if they aren't there. As for what POST is good for, it allows you to send more data. The URL is limited to a length of 255 characters, so you need to use some other method if you want to send more data than that. The data in a POST request also doesn't need to be encoded to be compatible with the URL specification.

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As I understand it, the only reason for include the parameters in a POST request is to keep them from being visible in the URL in case someone is looking over your shoulder, or something like that.

You misunderstand it.

There are other issues. If your site makes changes to data based off a GET request, it's possible that spambots, search engines, browser prefetchers, and other automated tools will trigger potentially destructive data changes.

If the endpoint isn't under your control, it's entirely possible that it won't even accept the parameters as GET parameters. Most APIs require proper usage of the GET vs. POST verbs.