Types of API

Question 1

REST

Answer 1

REST (Representational State Transfer) is an API style using stateless, client-server communication, typically over HTTP. It manipulates resources via standard methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).

Example - A REST API for a bookstore might use /books (GET to view books) and /books/{id} (POST to add a book).

Question 2

SOAP

Answer 2

SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol for structured information exchange in web services, using XML over HTTP or SMTP.

Example - A SOAP API for weather might send XML requests to get temperature or humidity, with strict message format.

Question 3

RPC

Answer 3

RPC (Remote Procedure Call) is a protocol where a program requests a service or function execution on a remote server as if it were local.

Example - An RPC call might ask a remote server to perform calculations or retrieve data by calling getUserData() with parameters

Question 4

Local

Answer 4

A Local API provides communication between software components within the same system or device, without needing a network.

Example - An operating system API, like Windows API, allows applications to interact directly with system functions on the same machine.