Delete Operation (DELETE)

The final CRUD operation is 'Delete', which allows clients to remove a resource permanently. This action is handled by the `DELETE` HTTP method. Like `GET` for a single item and `PUT`, a `DELETE` request targets the specific URI of the resource to be removed, such as `DELETE /books/{book_id}`. The request typically does not have a body. The server-side logic is straightforward: it finds the resource corresponding to the given `book_id`. If the resource doesn't exist, the server should respond with a `404 Not Found` status code, just as with `GET` and `PUT`. If the resource is found, it is removed from the data store. After a successful deletion, the server should respond with a `204 No Content` status code. The `204` code is appropriate because the action was successful, but there is no data to return in the response body. It is important not to return `200 OK` with a confirmation message, as `204` is the more precise and standard signal for this type of operation. `DELETE` operations are idempotent, meaning that making the same `DELETE` request multiple times has the same effect as making it once (the resource is deleted on the first call, and subsequent calls will likely result in a `404`, but the state of the system remains the same). Implementing this endpoint completes our CRUD API, providing clients with the full lifecycle management for the resource.