Why is it best practice to add a delay between automatic, repeated API calls?
- It ensures another call won’t happen if the first call isn’t successful.
- It lessens the chance you’ll receive 404 errors.
- It lessens the chance you’ll receive 5xx temporarily overloaded errors.
- It keeps your integration running faster.
Explanation: Adding a delay between automatic, repeated API calls is considered a best practice primarily because it ’lessens the chance you’ll receive 5xx temporarily overloaded errors.’ These errors, commonly known as server errors, occur when the server encounters issues or becomes temporarily overloaded, leading to a failure in processing requests. By introducing a delay between API calls, you reduce the likelihood of overwhelming the server with a high volume of simultaneous requests, allowing it time to recover and process requests more effectively. This practice helps in maintaining the stability and reliability of your integration by mitigating the risk of encountering server errors, which can disrupt operations and negatively impact user experience. While ensuring that another call won’t happen if the first call isn’t successful is also a valid consideration for error handling and resilience, it does not directly address the issue of server overload, which the selected option appropriately highlights as a key reason for implementing delays between API calls. Additionally, delaying calls does not inherently prevent specific errors like 404 Not Found but can contribute to overall performance and reliability by mitigating server-related issues. Therefore, incorporating delays between automatic API calls is essential for optimizing integration performance, minimizing the risk of server errors, and ensuring the smooth operation of your application or service.