REST vs. SOAP
Difference between REST and SOAP: – With every passing day we can see increasingly use of internet and other technologies in our life. Thus technologies, which are used to transfer data from one place to another has also great importance. SOAP and REST are also one of them. A lot of people around us seem confuse and ask a question freely what a difference between REST and SOAP is. This post is all about the difference between REST and SOAP. Let’s see difference below.
Difference between REST and
- SOAP
SOAP was created by Microsoft and was intended to help change the old DCOM and CORBA solutions. It’s been around for considerably longer than REST. SOAP is undoubtedly heavier than REST i.e. the need for bandwidth to transfer the data is greater, which means that more bandwidth is required per message to get the information from the source and to send it back to the source. Ultimately, the network will have to do significantly more work, when sending and retrieving data.
SOAP is not designed to use HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) exclusively; instead, it can be used over SMTP and other travel protocols. Moreover, as SOAP was standardized, it is stricter than REST. SOAP only uses XML for messaging different services online, and XML communication requests can be quite complex if developed manually. That’s why it is important to keep a keen eye during development stage as SOAP is inflexible with mistakes. Another way is to use .NET languages for SOAP communications, where creators need not use the XML as it is created automatically in the backend.
If any problems arise, the detailed mistake information is delivered as a response, and the good thing about this is, the process can be computerized by referencing the typical error rules provided in the subject-matter response. So, the only issue that remains is the choice of a programming language, which depends on how difficult one wants the code to be.
Among the bits of data that accompany a SOAP transfer information is the Net Services Description Terminology (“WSDL”), which describes the way the web service works. When a credit card application references the net service, this terminology helps to read and comprehend and details the procedure which tells how to proceed with the net service.
- REST
REST is the newer and streamlined cousin of SOAP and is quickly becoming the first option to go with for web developers and many popular web and mobile based applications. A decade later than its introduction, it was even lighter, more maintainable and scalable way of getting connected with web services.
Unlike SOAP, REST is not associated with one particular language, specifically, i.e. XML. Instead, it can be used with plain words, CSV, and RSS, as well as JSON and AJAX; as long as both, the source and the requestor can understand the language used. REST is a lot less complicated and has a somewhat linear learning curve than SOAP. Modern programming languages such as C#, Python, Java, and Perl, etc. have libraries and frameworks to aid REST based services. It is designed for optimal handling of requests and is better than using different languages.
In short, each has its own advantages and disadvantages but the only that matters to both is the language which is used to access to the standard protocols. That’s why it is important to consider the coding languages during the development stage, the environment in which the application is being executed and the minimum requirements of the program.
