MODULE 01 // LESSON 04
Error Handling

Failure Resilience

In production, things fail. APIs timeout. Rate limits hit. Networks drop. The difference between a robust integration and a broken system is how you handle failure. ABIS errors aren't just problems—they're signals.

VISUAL: Digital fortress with defensive shields // Circuit breakers activating // Error codes transforming to green
ERROR TAXONOMY

ABIS error responses follow standard HTTP status codes with enriched JSON error objects containing error codes, human-readable messages, and actionable details. Common failure modes include authentication errors (401/403), rate limiting (429), validation failures (400), server errors (500/502/503), and timeout scenarios.

Each error type requires distinct handling strategies: retries with exponential backoff for transient failures, credential refresh for auth errors, request throttling for rate limits, and graceful degradation for prolonged outages.

Production-grade implementations include circuit breakers to prevent cascade failures, comprehensive logging for debugging, and fallback mechanisms that maintain system functionality even when ABIS is unavailable.

NO RETRY
400

Validation Error

Request payload doesn't match schema. Fix the payload structure and retry manually.

NO RETRY
401

Authentication Failed

Invalid or expired credentials. Refresh OAuth token or verify API key before retry.

NO RETRY
403

Forbidden

Valid credentials but insufficient permissions. Check API key scopes.

RETRY
429

Rate Limited

Request quota exceeded. Retry after delay specified in retry_after_seconds field.

RETRY
500-503

Server Error

Transient server failure. Retry with exponential backoff and jitter.

RETRY
504

Gateway Timeout

Request took too long to process. Retry with exponential backoff.

KNOWLEDGE CHECK // Q04
When should you retry an ABIS API request, and when should you immediately fail?