Question 1

How to make a POST request with JSON body in Excon?

Accepted Answer

You need to set the Content-Type header to 'application/json' and manually encode the body using JSON.generate. For example: Excon.post('url', headers: {'Content-Type' => 'application/json'}, body: JSON.dump(data)). This approach gives control but requires extra steps compared to clients with built-in JSON support.

Question 2

Excon vs Faraday: which is better for Ruby HTTP clients?

Accepted Answer

Excon is lower-level and faster, ideal for fine-grained control and performance-critical applications. Faraday offers more abstractions and a rich middleware ecosystem, making it better for rapid development and extensibility. Choose Excon for raw speed and simplicity, Faraday for convenience and flexibility.

Question 3

How to mock HTTP requests in tests using Excon stubs?

Accepted Answer

Enable mock mode on a connection or request with :mock => true, then use Excon.stub to define response patterns. For instance, Excon.stub({}, {:body => 'test', :status => 200}) stubs any request. Clear stubs with Excon.stubs.clear to avoid test pollution, as described in the 'Stubs' section.

Question 4

Does Excon support HTTP/2?

Accepted Answer

No, Excon only supports HTTP 1.1, as stated in its GitHub description. For HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 features, you would need to use alternative libraries like http-2 gem or clients with broader protocol support, which might involve more complexity or switching tools.

Question 5

How to handle timeouts and retries in Excon?

Accepted Answer

Configure timeouts and retries using options like :read_timeout, :retry_limit, and :idempotent. For example, connection.request(:idempotent => true, :retry_limit => 4) safely retries on errors. Details are in the 'Timeouts and Retries' section, allowing precise control over failure handling.

Question 6

Can Excon be used with Rails for API calls?

Accepted Answer

Yes, Excon integrates well with Rails, especially for instrumentation via ActiveSupport::Notifications. However, for JSON APIs, you'll need to handle serialization manually or add gems. It's lightweight and performant but may require more setup compared to Rails-built-in or higher-level clients.

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