REST API vs SOAP API: Key Differences in Scalability, Reliability, and Security

REST API Support

Question

With an API, various features and optimizations are highly desirable to scalability, reliability, and security.

What does the REST API support that the SOAP API does NOT support?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

B.

The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) does not support caching, whereas the Representational State Transfer (REST) API does.

The other options are all capabilities that are either not supported by SOAP or not supported by any API and must be provided by external features.

REST (Representational State Transfer) and SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) are two common web services that are used to exchange data between two applications or systems. REST and SOAP APIs have different architectural styles and use different communication protocols to transfer data over the web.

REST is an architectural style for building web services that uses HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to interact with resources or data on the web. REST API is lightweight and easy to implement, making it highly scalable, reliable, and secure. REST API supports caching, which reduces the number of requests sent to the server, increases response time, and reduces network traffic.

On the other hand, SOAP is a protocol for exchanging structured data in the implementation of web services. SOAP API uses XML to format data and HTTP as a communication protocol. SOAP API is considered heavyweight and complex to implement. SOAP API does not support caching, which can result in slower response time, increased network traffic, and reduced reliability.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is B. Caching. REST API supports caching, which makes it highly desirable for scalability, reliability, and security. Caching reduces the number of requests sent to the server, improves response time, and reduces network traffic, making REST API highly efficient and reliable. In contrast, SOAP API does not support caching, which can result in slower response time, increased network traffic, and reduced reliability.