HTTP Response Codes

EDS API returns an HTTP response code with each request. EDS API uses conventional HTTP response codes to indicate success or failure of the request. Response codes in the 400 range indicate an error in the information that was provided in the request. For example, a 404 HTTP response code is returned by the service if the information provided is missing a required parameter. Response codes in the 500 range indicate an error on the server, a database error or an API settings error. The HTTP response codes are below.

Response Codes

Error Response Messages

EDS API also returns error messages that provide additional information about the error. Error messages are returned in XML or JSON format. The error message contains an ErrorNumber which is the error code. It also contains a description and a detailed description. The error message provides descriptive error text and codes that are machine-parsable. The message text for an error message could vary, but the error that the code represents will stay the same. An example error message is below.

Error Message

<APIErrorMessage xmlns="http://epnet.com/webservices/EbscoApi" xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
  <DetailedErrorDescription>Parameter Name: pagenumber Parameter value: x. Parameter value must be an integer.</DetailedErrorDescription>
  <ErrorDescription>Invalid Argument Value</ErrorDescription>
  <ErrorNumber>112</ErrorNumber>
</APIErrorMessage>

Error Codes

Each error message has an error code. The error code corresponds to a particular HTTP response code. The error codes for the EBSCO Knowledge Services are in the table below. If you see an error code that is not listed in the table, please use the HTTP response code to determine the best way to address the error. Some errors are resolved if you simply retry the same request.

Error Codes