REST & SOAP
What is an API?
API is the acronym for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an app like Facebook, send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you’re using an API.
When you use an application on your device (mobile or computer ), the application connects to the Internet and sends data to a server. The server then retrieves that data, interprets it, performs the necessary actions and sends it back to your device. The application then interprets that data and presents you with the information you wanted in a readable way. This is what an API is — all of this happens via API.
Type of API
Private APIs:
These application software interfaces are designed for improving solutions and services within an organization. In-house developers or contractors may use these APIs to integrate a company’s IT systems or applications, build new systems or customer-facing apps leveraging existing systems. Even if apps are publicly available, the interface itself remains available only for those working directly with the API publisher. The private strategy allows a company to fully control the API usage.
Partner APIs:
Partner APIs are openly promoted but shared with business partners who have signed an agreement with the publisher. The common use case for partner APIs is software integration between two parties. A company that grants partners with access to data or capability benefits from extra revenue streams. At the same time, it can monitor how the exposed digital assets are used, ensure whether third-party solutions using their APIs provide decent user experience, and maintain corporate identity in their apps.
Public APIs:
Also known as developer-facing or external, these APIs are available for any third-party developers. A public API program allows for increasing brand awareness and receiving an additional source of income when properly executed.
Now let’s move on to the original topic of finding out the widely used API Specifications are.
Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)
SOAP is a protocol which was designed before REST and came into the picture. 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.
Representational State Transfer (REST)
REST was designed specifically for working with components such as media components, files, or even objects on a particular hardware device. Any web service that is defined on the principles of REST can be called a Restful web service. A Restful service would use the normal HTTP verbs of GET, POST, PUT and DELETE for working with the required components.
REST is an Architectural style in which a web service can only be treated as a RESTful service if it follows the constraints of being
- Client Server
- Stateless
- Cacheable
- Layered System
- Uniform Interface
Challenges in REST API
Lack of Security:
REST does not impose any sort of security like SOAP. This is why REST is very appropriate for public available URL’s, but when it comes down to confidential data being passed between the client and the server, REST is the worst mechanism to be used for web services.
Lack of state :
Most web applications require a stateful mechanism. For example, if you had a purchasing site which had the mechanism of having a shopping cart, it is required to know the number of items in the shopping cart before the actual purchase is made. Unfortunately, the burden of maintaining this state lies with the client, which just makes the client application heavier and difficult to maintain.