SOAP vs REST
SOAP vs. REST comparison table Although REST is very popular these days, SOAP still has its place in the world of web services. To help you choose between them, here’s a comparison table of SOAP and REST, that highlights the main differences between the two API styles: SOAP REST Meaning Simple Object Access Protocol Representational State Transfer Design Standardized protocol with pre-defined rules to follow. Architectural style with loose guidelines and recommendations. Approach Function-driven (data available as services, e.g.: “getUser”) Data-driven (data available as resources, e.g. “user”). Statefulness Stateless by default, but it’s possible to make a SOAP API stateful. Stateless (no server-side sessions). Caching API calls cannot be cached. API calls can be cached. Security WS-Security with SSL support. Built-in ACID compliance. Supports HTTPS and SSL. Performance Requires more bandwidth and computing power. Requires fewer resources. Message format Only XML. Plai