Should a response body for errors be standardized?

[Joe Gregorio <joe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

How should errors be handled? That is, an HTTP Status code needs to be returned when an operation fails. Should there be a response body on errors, and if so, what should it look like? I see three possibities, if you have other ideas please add to this list:

  1. Don't specify a format for the response body, let the server decide the format of what to return.
  2. Specify a mimi-type of the text/plain, so the error string can be presented to the user.
  3. Return and XML file with formatted error info:

  <error> 
       <title>Can't create Entry</title> 
       <description>Your bloggging service subscription has expired.  
           Visit reup.example.com to renew your subscription today!</description> 
   </error> 


	Thanks,
	-joe

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