Key Differences Between GraphQL and REST APIs
GraphQL and REST APIs are both powerful tools for building web applications, but they have some key differences:
1. Data Fetching:
REST APIs follow a predefined structure where each endpoint corresponds to a specific resource and returns fixed data. In contrast, GraphQL allows clients to request only the data they need, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching of data.
2. Flexibility:
With REST, clients often need to make multiple requests to different endpoints to fetch related data. In GraphQL, clients can specify nested queries in a single request, reducing the number of network requests required to fetch data.
3. Versioning:
REST APIs require explicit versioning to introduce changes without breaking existing clients. With GraphQL, the schema serves as a contract between clients and servers, enabling backward-compatible changes without versioning.
Advantages of GraphQL:
1. Performance: GraphQL allows clients to request only the data they need, improving performance by reducing over-fetching and under-fetching of data.
2. Flexibility: Clients can specify their data requirements in a single request, reducing the number of network requests and optimizing data fetching.
3. Strongly Typed Schema: GraphQL uses a strongly typed schema that enables precise validation of queries at runtime, improving data consistency and reducing errors.
Please login or Register to submit your answer