What is Web services
Web service is a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It makes it possible to transfer data from an application to other applications. An API receives requests and sends back responses through internet protocols such as HTTP(s).
What is SOAP?
SOAP is a protocol which was designed before REST and came into the picture. SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. It’s a messaging protocol for interchanging data in a decentralized and distributed environment. SOAP can work with any application layer protocol, such as HTTP, SMTP, TCP, or UDP. It returns data to the receiver in XML format. Have look at example of XML file.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<soap:Envelope
xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope/"
soap:encodingStyle="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-encoding">
<soap:Body>
<m:GetPriceResponse xmlns:m="https://www.w3schools.com/prices">
<m:Price>1.90</m:Price>
</m:GetPriceResponse>
</soap:Body>
</soap:Envelope>
What is REST?
REST stands for Representational State Transfer. It’s an architectural style that defines a set of recommendations for designing loosely coupled applications that use the HTTP protocol for data transmission. REST support multiple data format include text, HTML, XML, YAML, and JSON.
SOAP VS REST Comparison:
SOAP | REST |
---|---|
SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. | REST stands for Representational State Transfer. |
SOAP is purely based on XML format. | REST support multiple data format include text, HTML, XML, YAML, and JSON. |
SOAP can work with any application layer protocol, such as HTTP, SMTP, TCP, or UDP. | REST can work with only HTTP(s) protocol. |
SOAP should consider has heavy Due to SOAP defines standards to be strictly followed. | REST is light weight Due to REST does not define too much standards like SOAP. |
SOAP is High security, standardized, extensibility. | REST is Scalability, better performance, browser-friendliness, flexibility. |
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