What is the difference between SOAP and REST?

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Answered by suresh

What is the difference between SOAP and REST?

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and REST (Representational State Transfer) are both web services protocols used for communication between applications. The main differences between SOAP and REST are:

  1. Protocol: SOAP is a protocol that uses XML as its message format, whereas REST uses various message formats including JSON, XML, and others.
  2. Statefulness: SOAP is stateful, meaning that each request from a client to a server must contain all the information needed for the server to fulfill the request. on the other hand, REST is stateless, meaning that each request from a client to a server must contain all the information needed for the server to fulfill the request.
  3. Performance and Scalability: REST is generally considered to be more lightweight and faster than SOAP, making it more suitable for high-performance and scalable systems.
  4. Flexibility: REST is more flexible in terms of data formats and can use multiple data formats, while SOAP relies on XML exclusively.

In summary, SOAP is more rigid and formal in its structure, making it suitable for applications that require a high level of security and transactional support, while REST is more lightweight and flexible, making it a popular choice for building APIs and web services that require simplicity and speed.

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