Looking for the right API development technology for your next project, mastering backend technologies like GraphQL, REST, and gRPC is like having a superpower in the world of software development. APIs allow different systems to communicate with each other, enabling seamless data exchange and integration.
Let us have a glance at the comparison between REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC, along with the pros & cons and use cases for these tools.
What Is REST?
Representational State Transfer or REST is the developers’ most commonly used architectural style to create APIs. It allows applications across the Internet to interact with each other using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) requests. It is stateless, in which each request contains all the necessary information.
REST uses these HTTP methods to express the action to take:
- GET for fetching existing resources.
- POST for creating a new resource
- PUT for updating a new resource
- DELETE for deleting a resource
REST APIs are used for communication between the client and the server. REST is efficient and easy to learn, hence it is widely used for API development. It uses URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers) to identify all resources available on the web.
What Is GraphQL?
GraphQL is an open-source data query and manipulation language for APIs, allowing developers to specify an API request’s data requirements. Developers can get all the data they need in a single request with GraphQL. They can also receive specific types of data just by making requests to the API, as they are easy to maintain and understand. It was developed by Facebook and works as a query language for APIs. To define the availability of the shape of data in the API, GraphQL uses a typing system. It also gives client-driven data, which means clients can access the specific data according to their requirements. This also reduces overfetching of data, which results in efficient working.
What is gRPC?
gRPC (remote procedure call) is a high-performing API development technology that is developed by Google. gRPC APIs are the fastest API development technology because they use HTTP/2 for transport and Protocol Buffers. It is very well suited for high-performance applications such as fast data loading, real-time analytics, video streaming, financial services, real-time streaming, etc. It supports multiple programming languages, which makes it accessible to a wide range of developers, providing them with an open platform. By enabling efficient communication between services, it enables a bi-directional streaming for real-time communication.
Key Differences: REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC
| Key Points | REST | GraphQL | gRPC |
| Data Structure | GraphQL is strongly typed. | REST is weakly typed. | gRPC is strongly typed. |
| Data Transfer | REST APIs transfer data in JSON or XML format. | GraphQL APIs transfer data in a GraphQL-specific format. | gRPC APIs transfer data in the Protocol Buffers format. |
| Endpoints | Has multiple endpoint URLs | Has a single URL endpoint | No endpoints |
| Response | REST response follows a strict schema structure defined by the server. | The response provided by GraphQL can follow any schema provided by the client. | It uses the Protocol Buffers schema for the response. |
| Performance | REST APIs are slower than GraphQL and gRPC APIs. | GraphQL APIs are faster than REST API and slower than gRPC. | They are faster than REST and GraphQL. |
| Data Requirement | REST API provides all available data on the servers. | GraphQL provides specific data based on client requirements. | gRPC APIs use Protocol Buffers to define the messages and services |
PROS & CONS: REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC
REST
PROS:
- REST is easy to learn; it’s the most mature API architectural style present in the tech field.
- It is widely used, supported, and consumed by various clients, including web browsers, mobile applications, and other server-side systems.
- REST is easily accessible from different programming languages and provides uniformity across methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE.
CONS:
- REST possesses slow performance for large data sets.
- With REST, fetching only a specific piece of entity data is not usually possible. It has no understanding of data requirements.
- It is not flexible and is slower than the other two.
- REST APIs do not provide any security protocols.
GraphQL
PROS:
- GraphQL possesses flexibility as it allows users to fetch data according to their requirements and specifications.
- GraphQL has faster performance in comparison to REST and provides efficient data transfers.
- It provides real-time data updates that can be used for live connection tools or chat applications.
- It is easy to maintain if understood properly.
CONS:
- GraphQL can be a bit complex than REST, in terms of understanding and working with it.
- It can be a bit complex in terms of learning and understanding in comparison to REST.
- The development of its tool ecosystem is still ongoing, which results in the limitation of resources and support.
- Its Backend and Caching mechanism are more complex than REST, which requires careful designing of caching strategies by the developers.
gRPC
PROS:
- Faster than REST and GraphQL, as it provides a high-performance framework.
- Efficient data serialization by using Protocol Buffers.
- Generates client and server codes automatically based on predefined protocol buffers.
- It provides high performance and scalability and is easy to use.
CONS:
- It has limited support in web browsers in comparison to REST and GraphQL.
- gRPC can be complex to understand, as it requires an understanding of protocol buffers and other gRPC concepts.
- It requires a good infrastructure to maintain the load balancing due to its high performance.
Use Cases: REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC
REST
- Web & mobile applications
REST helps in the data exchange between the backend and the frontend servers. It can be used by mobile applications to access several functionalities and data. REST is well-suited for building traditional web applications.
- Micro-services
It creates services to communicate with the applications within the system and provides a standardized way for microservices to interact.
- Public API Adaptation
REST is widely used for the creation of public APIs because it is compatible, easy to understand, and easily accessible.
- Cloud services
REST services are stateless, which helps in easy communication used in cloud-based services and controls how URLs are decoded.
- E-commerce
REST APIs help manage various aspects of E-commerce and work efficiently with their functionalities, such as payments, online carts, online shopping, etc.
GraphQL
- Real-time updates
GraphQL servers allow users to fetch real-time updates, This capability can be helpful for applications that require continuous updates, such as chat applications, collaborative tools, etc.
- Microservice Architecture
GraphQL makes the service interactions simplified and efficient.
- Multiple data sources
It can integrate and provide data from multiple sources into one endpoint.
- Dynamic data representation
GraphQL provides the specific data to the users based on their requirements, which makes it ideal for applications with complex data requirements.
gRPC
- High Performance Applications
gRPC is used for communication between microservices in Netflix’s backend. Netflix uses gRPC for some of its internal APIs. Also, companies like Cisco and Twitter use gRPC for their systems.
- Real-time Application
It is used for applications requiring real-time updates, such as video streaming, real-time financial services, or real-time data analytics.
- Large data loading system
Used for applications that require large amounts of data loading, such as game development.
Conclusion
All three APIs ( REST, GraphQL, gRPC ) possess their own set of features for users, making them different from each other based on their advantages and disadvantages. They are popular tools used by several developers because they meet the requirements in terms of their performance and operations.
With this blog, you can analyze your requirements and explore these technologies to choose the right one for your next project, also ensure that it’s scalable, efficient, and reliable for you.
Aditi Chaudhary is an enthusiastic content writer at Newsdata.io, where she covers topics related to real-time news, News APIs, data-driven journalism, and emerging trends in media and technology. Aditi is passionate about storytelling, research, and creating content that informs and inspires. As a student of Journalism and Mass Communication with a strong interest in the evolving landscape of digital media, she aims to merge her creativity with credibility to expand her knowledge and bring innovation into every piece she creates.
