API architectural styles define how APIs are designed and structured. Here are the top six API architectural styles:
REST (Representational State Transfer): REST is a stateless architecture that uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to interact with resources represented as URLs. It's known for its simplicity, scalability, and wide adoption.
SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): SOAP is a protocol-based architecture for exchanging structured information in the implementation of web services. It relies on XML and typically uses HTTP, SMTP, or other application layer protocols.
GraphQL: GraphQL is a query language for APIs that allows clients to request exactly the data they need. It provides a more efficient and flexible way to interact with APIs compared to REST.
WebSocket: WebSocket is a protocol that enables full-duplex communication channels over a single TCP connection. It's ideal for real-time applications, such as chat apps and online gaming.
gRPC: gRPC is a high-performance RPC (Remote Procedure Call) framework that uses Protocol Buffers (protobufs) for efficient data serialization. It's designed for inter-service communication in microservices architectures.
JSON-RPC and XML-RPC: These are remote procedure call (RPC) protocols that allow applications to make calls to methods or procedures on a remote server. JSON-RPC uses JSON for data serialization, while XML-RPC uses XML.
