Batch author updates

Learn about how the API handles different batch author update actions

This table lists different batch update scenarios and results.

ActionResult
Update an author where neither the author nor handle(s) exists in CareThe API creates a new author and associates the handle with it.
Update a single author with multiple handles. One is known in Care and is already associated with an author, but all other handles are new.Response associates all unknown handles with the author record linked to the known handle.
Update a single author with multiple handles. The first handle found using the API's evaluation protocol is new and the others are already associated to one or more author records in Care.The API creates a new author record, joins it with the new handle, and associates the other handles with the record.
Update a single author with multiple handles. Each handle exists in Care but is currently anchored to unrelated author records.The API associates all of the handles with the author anchored to the first handle found by the evaluation protocol.
Update multiple unique authors with unique handles.The API updates each author creating new author records for those that do not already exist in Care.
Update multiple authors where each update applies to the same author record.The API processes the updates in the order specified in the request. The response should contain one author record in the results and should reflect all updates.
Update a single author, but one of the handles contains malformed data.The API will fail validation and report the update in the response's metadata with an accompanying error message or messages if multiple failures occurred.
Update multiple authors (unique or same), but some of the updates contain malformed data.The API processes the updates and fails on the bad updates. The successful updates are listed in the data section of the response while failures are listed in the "metadata" section.