rest and soap
REST (Representational State Transfer) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) are two different web service communication methods used in application integration.
SOAP: SOAP is a protocol defined by the W3C for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services using XML. It’s a well-defined and highly extensible approach, which makes it suitable for communication between applications over a network.
Features of SOAP:
- Language, platform, and transport independent (can be used with HTTP, SMTP, TCP, UDP etc.)
- Works well in distributed enterprise environments and standardized environments
- Supports WS-Security and other advanced web services standards
- Enables communication between applications over a firewall
- Requires more bandwidth and resources
REST: REST is an architectural style, not a protocol like SOAP. It stands for Representational State Transfer. It’s a set of constraints for building web services. A service based on REST is called a RESTful service. Data in a RESTful service is usually sent and received as JSON.
Features of REST:
- Unlike SOAP, REST doesn’t have to use XML for payload data. REST can use different formats like JSON, XML, YAML, or others.
- It’s stateless: each HTTP request from the client to server must contain all the information needed to understand and process the request.
- Uses standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE for interactions.
- It’s more simple and easy to use than SOAP.
- RESTful services are easily cacheable.
In general, REST is used when the speed of data transfer is crucial, like in mobile applications. SOAP is used in enterprise-level applications, where security and reliability are more critical.
