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Difference Between GraphQL and REST
If you want to develop and design APIs that can be used to exchange data over the internet, you can go for GraphQL and Rest. HTTP verbs are used by applications that Rest enables to exchange data with the server. GraphQL is used to define the ways in which client applications have to request data from a remote server. In this article, we will discuss the difference between GraphQL and rest.
What is GraphQL?
GraphQL is an open-source query language which uses APIs to make changes in the data. It uses a server-side runtime engine for the manipulation of the data. GraphQL fetches only the data which is requested by a client. GraphQL has compatibility with many frameworks and languages like Java, Spring, ExpressJS, NodeJS, and Django. GraphQL was developed by Facebook in 2012.
Advantages of GraphQL
The advantages of GraphQL are as follows ?
- GraphQL uses a single endpoint to perform all its operations
- Only the data is retrieved that is requested by the client
- The schema in GraphQL provides information about the data that it contains
What is Rest?
Rest was developed in the 2000s and has the ability of using client-server, stateless, and cacheable protocols. The APIs developed in Rest are known as RESTful APIs and they can perform the following operations ?
- Create
- Read
- Update
- Delete
The Rest APIs return all the data requested by a client.
Features of Rest
The features of Rest are as follows ?
- Client-server architecture
- Stateless operations
- Restful resource caching
- Layered system
- Code on demand
Advantages of Rest
The advantages of Rest are as follows ?
- Rest can be used easily
- Rest supports all the languages that support HTTP
- Rest consists of a lot of tools so developers can work on the APIs easily
Similarities between GraphQL and Rest
GraphQL and Rest have many similarities which are listed below ?
- GraphQL and Rest support the client-server model to exchange data over the internet.
- Data can be updated, added, modified, and deleted with the help of Rest and GraphQL by using APIs.
- Architectural principles used in GraphQL and Rest are similar.
- The client-server model is used by both of them.
- Both of them use a common communication protocol that is HTTP
- Both of them use a similar data exchange format and that is JSON
- The architectural principles of both technologies are same
- HTTP is used as a transport layer by both of them
Difference between GraphQL and Rest
The difference between GraphQL and Rest can be found in the table below.
| GraphQL | Rest |
|---|---|
| APIs made through GraphQL are known as GraphQL APIs | APIs developed through Rest are known as Restful APIs |
| A single endpoint is used by GraphQL for different types of operations. | Rest uses different endpoints for different types of operations. |
| The client has to define the type of data that it needs through GraphQL. | The data in Rest API is fetched with the help of pre-defined rules. |
| Over-fetching and under-fetching data are reduced in GraphQL. | Over-fetching and under-fetching are done by the Rest APIs and are considered as the common issues. |
| Another feature of GraphQL is the support of real-time updates with subscriptions. | Rest API supports polling of real-time data. |
| GraphQL consists of a lot of tools and libraries. It is still a growing technology. | Rest is already established and consists of a lot of libraries and tools. |
| GraphQL uses schema in which a schema is generated when the code first approach is implemented. | Rest does not use schema. |
| GraphQL is less popular | Rest is more popular |
| 200 status code is used for all the responses. This status code also includes error responses. | Rest uses HTTP status codes for error handling. |
| API versioning is not required in GraphQL. | Rest supports multiple versions of an API |
| GraphQL provides more flexibility in querying data. | Rest is less flexible comparatively in querying data. |
| All queries are batched into a single query and can be sent as a single network request. | All queries in the Rest API are sent as a separate network request. |
Conclusion
GraphQL and Rest are used to develop APIs so that data can be exchanged over the internet. Both of them use HTTP as a communication protocol. GraphQL is an open-source language which can be used by APIs to make changes in requested data. Over-fetching and under-fetching data is not done in GraphQL but it is a part of Rest. The APIs developed in GraphQL are known as GraphQL API and in Rest it is known as RESTful API.
FAQs on GraphQL Vs. Rest
1. In which technology, queries are batched into a single query?
In GraphQL all the queries are batched into a single query and sent as a single network request. In Rest API, all queries are sent as separate network request.
2. Which technology does not support API versioning?
API versioning is not supported by GraphQL but it is fully supported by Rest.
3. Which technology supports real-time updates with a subscription?
GraphQL supports real-time updates with subscriptions. Rest supports polling of the real-time data.
4. Which technology does not allow over or under-fetching of data?
GraphQL does not support over or under fetching of data but it is an issue of the Rest API.
5. How many endpoints are used by GraphQL and Rest API for performing different types of operations?
GraphQL uses a single endpoint for performing all the operations while Rest API uses different types of endpoints.
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