REST APIs vs GraphQL APIs: Simplified Explanation of their differences
Tags: beginners, api, graphql
Published: 2023-01-10 00:09:55

**WHAT IS API?**

You visit a nice restaurant to sate your hungry stomach. You order a plate of salad. The waiter then takes your request to the kitchen and asks the chef to make a salad and a few minutes later, the waiter returned with your order.

So, without entering the kitchen or speaking with the chef personally, you received your order. Think of API as your waiter.

API stands for "Application Programming Interface." It allows communications between two software systems, enabling them to exchange data and functionality.

There are two main types of APIs: REST APIs and GraphQL APIs. While both types of APIs can be used to build web applications, there are some critical differences between them. In this article, we'll take a closer look at these two types of APIs and see how they differ.

**REST APIs**

REST (Representational State Transfer) APIs are the most common type of web APIs. They use a standard set of HTTP methods (such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE) to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, and Delete) operations on resources.

REST APIs are based on the idea of resource representation. Each resource is identified by a unique URL, and the data for that resource is represented in a specific format (such as JSON or XML). The client (usually a web browser) sends an HTTP request to the server to retrieve or modify the resource, and the server responds with the requested data or a status code indicating the success or failure of the request.

One of the main benefits of REST APIs is that they are easy to understand and use. The standard HTTP methods and resource representation model make it simple for developers to integrate with REST APIs.

However, REST APIs also have some limitations. Because each resource has a fixed URL, it can be difficult to change the structure of the data returned by the API. Additionally, REST APIs are often designed around a specific resource hierarchy, which can make it difficult to query for data that doesn't fit neatly into that hierarchy.

**GraphQL APIs**

GraphQL is a query language for APIs that was developed by Facebook in 2015. It provides an alternative to REST APIs that is more flexible and efficient.

Instead of using fixed URLs to access resources, GraphQL APIs allow clients to send queries that specify exactly the data they need. The server then responds with only the requested data, in the exact format specified by the query.

This flexibility makes GraphQL APIs more powerful than REST APIs. Clients can request exactly the data they need, without having to worry about the underlying resource hierarchy or data structure. This can make it easier to build client applications that are more efficient and easier to maintain.

On the server side, GraphQL APIs can be more efficient than REST APIs because they allow the server to batch multiple requests into a single call. This can reduce the number of round-trips between the client and server.

**Conclusion**

In this article, we have discussed:

What is API

What is RESTAPI

What is GraphQLAPI

Differences between RESTAPI and GraphQLAPI