[jira] [Created] (CXF-8991) Enhancement: Determine Content Type for Empty Requests with Consideration for `application/json`

["Krzysztof Grabowski (Jira)" <ji...@apache.org>]

Krzysztof Grabowski created CXF-8991:
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             Summary: Enhancement: Determine Content Type for Empty Requests with Consideration for `application/json`
                 Key: CXF-8991
                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CXF-8991
             Project: CXF
          Issue Type: Improvement
          Components: Core
    Affects Versions: 3.6.3
            Reporter: Krzysztof Grabowski


*Summary:* In Apache CXF version 3.6.3, the handling of content type for empty requests defaults to a specific behavior that may not accommodate all use cases, specifically when dealing with JSON content types. This enhancement proposal aims to extend the {{determineContentType()}} method functionality to better support scenarios where {{application/json}} content type should be inferred or explicitly set for empty requests.

*Problem:* Currently, when making empty requests (no request body), the {{HttpURLConnection}} does not set the {{Content-Type}} header unless explicitly defined by the user. This behavior is controlled by the {{setProtocolHeadersInConnection}} method, which defaults to setting the content type to {{*/*}} or dropping it entirely for GET requests or when the {{SET_EMPTY_REQUEST_CT_PROPERTY}} is explicitly set to false. This approach does not account for situations where an empty request should imply a specific content type, such as {{{}application/json{}}}, which is a common use case in RESTful APIs.

*Proposed Improvement:* I suggest enhancing the {{determineContentType()}} method to include logic that checks the request context or headers for indications that {{application/json}} should be used as the content type for empty requests. This would involve:
 * Extending the logic within {{determineContentType()}} to infer {{application/json}} when appropriate, possibly based on additional headers or request properties indicating that the request is intended to be interpreted as a JSON request.
 * Updating {{setProtocolHeadersInConnection}} to accommodate this new logic, ensuring that empty requests can implicitly or explicitly be set to use {{application/json}} as the content type when no other content type is specified.

*Benefits:*
 * Aligns Apache CXF's handling of content types for empty requests with common RESTful API practices.
 * Provides more intuitive behavior for API consumers and developers, reducing the need for workarounds to explicitly set content types for empty JSON requests.
 * Enhances the framework's flexibility in handling various content types, particularly for APIs that predominantly use JSON.

*Impact:* This change is expected to improve Apache CXF's usability for developers working with JSON-centric APIs, making it easier to comply with API contracts that expect specific content types for all requests, including those without a body.
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