What is a REST API?
An API, or application programming interface, is a set of rules that define how applications or devices can connect to and communicate with each other. A REST API is an API that conforms to the design principles of the REST, or representational state transfer architectural style. For this reason, REST APIs are sometimes referred to RESTful APIs.
First defined in 2000 by computer scientist Dr. Roy Fielding in his doctoral dissertation, REST provides a relatively high level of flexibility and freedom for developers. This flexibility is just one reason why REST APIs have emerged as a common method for connecting components and applications in a microservices architecture.
Data formats the REST API supports include:
- application/json
- application/xml
- application/x-wbe+xml
- application/x-www-form-urlencoded
- multipart/form-data
What is SOAP API?
SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. SOAP is a messaging protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services in computer networks. The main idea behind designing SOAP was to ensure that programs built on different platforms and programming languages could exchange data in an easy manner.
SOAP, unlike the REST pattern, supports the XML data format only and strongly follows preset standards such as messaging structure, a set of encoding rules, and a convention for providing procedure requests and responses.
The built-in functionality to create web-based services allows SOAP to handle communications and make responses language- and platform-independent. While most web data exchange happens over REST exchange, SOAP isn’t disappearing anytime soon, because it’s highly standardized, allows for automation in certain cases, and it’s more secure.
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REST API vs SOAP API In Tabular Form
| BASIS OF COMPARISON | REST API | SOAP API |
| Acronym | REST stands for Representational State Transfer. | SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. |
| Standard | REST is an architectural style that doesn’t follow any strict standard but follows six constraints defined by Roy Fielding in 2000. | Since SOAP is a protocol, it follows a strict standard to allow communication between the client and the server. |
| Implementation | REST is easy to implement. | SOAP is difficult to implement. |
| XML | REST is not restricted to XML and its the choice of implementer which Media-Type to use like XML, JSON, Plain-text. | SOAP uses only XML for exchanging information in its message format. |
| Security | On the basis of Security, REST has SSL and HTTPS. | On the basis of Security, SOAP has SSL( Secure Socket Layer) and WS-security. |
| Nature | REST uses Uniform Service locators to access to the components on the hardware device. | SOAP uses service interfaces to expose its functionality to client applications. |
| JavaScript Convenience | REST APIs are more convenient with JavaScript and can be implemented easily as well. | SOAP APIs are also convenient with JavaScript but don’t support for greater implementation. |
| Description of Functionality | REST API uses Web Application Description Language, for describing the functionalities being offered by web services. | SOAP API used Web Services Description language for describing the functionalities being offered by web services. |
| File Size | REST API deploys multiple standards, so it takes fewer resources and bandwidth. | SOAP that uses XML for the creation of Payload and results in the large sized file. |
| Flexibility | REST can make use of SOAP as the underlying protocol for web services, because in the end it is just an architectural pattern. | SOAP cannot make use of REST since SOAP is a protocol and REST is an architectural pattern. |
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What you need to know about REST API
- REST stands for Representational State Transfer.
- REST is an architectural style that doesn’t follow any strict standard but follows six constraints defined by Roy Fielding in 2000. Those constraints are – Uniform Interface, Client-Server, Stateless, Cacheable, Layered System, Code on Demand.
- REST is easy to implement.
- REST is not restricted to XML and its the choice of implementer which Media-Type to use like XML, JSON, Plain-text.
- On the basis of Security, REST has SSL and HTTPS.
- REST uses Uniform Service locators to access to the components on the hardware device.
- REST APIs are more convenient with JavaScript and can be implemented easily as well.
- REST API uses Web Application Description Language, for describing the functionalities being offered by web services.
- REST API deploys multiple standards, so it takes fewer resources and bandwidth.
- REST can make use of SOAP as the underlying protocol for web services, because in the end it is just an architectural pattern.
What you need to know about SOAP API
- SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol.
- Since SOAP is a protocol, it follows a strict standard to allow communication between the client and the server.
- SOAP is difficult to implement.
- SOAP uses only XML for exchanging information in its message format.
- On the basis of Security, SOAP has SSL( Secure Socket Layer) and WS-security.
- SOAP uses service interfaces to expose its functionality to client applications.
- SOAP APIs are also convenient with JavaScript but don’t support for greater implementation.
- SOAP API used Web Services Description language for describing the functionalities being offered by web services.
- SOAP that uses XML for the creation of Payload and results in the large sized file.
- SOAP cannot make use of REST since SOAP is a protocol and REST is an architectural pattern.
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