Difference between REST API and SOAP API

REST (Representational State Transfer) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) are the most common methods for communications. These services enable the web to communicate with the servers with HTTP protocol. REST is an architectural style that works over HTTP for communication, while SOAP is a protocol with strict standards and is helpful for complex system operations.

REST API

REST, or Representational State Transfer, is an architectural style for building web services. It is mostly used for lightweight and stateless communication. It uses simple HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE to perform operations on the data resources.

Key Concepts

• Rest uses URI, i.e. Uniform Resource Indetifier and assumes everything as a resource
• It does not store any past data or requests and does independent operations
• It relies on the HTTP method to request any type of operation on the resourse.
• Rest usually works with JSON and XML data formats

SOAP API

SOAP, or Simple Object Access Protocol, is a messaging protocol. It allows the exchange of structure information without any platform. Soap uses the XML data format due to the complexity. It is mostly used for complex systems with strict standards ensuring security and reliability.

Key Concepts

• SOAP is a protocol as it has some strict rules for data fomat and communication.
• It manages the records and maintains the state between the requests.
• SOAP relies on SSL and WS-Securiy for secured communication.
• SOAP works with the XML data format to handle the complex data.

Difference between SOAP API and REST API