SOAP V/S REST API

Having learnt basic definitions about two methodologies of creating an API, lets go further as to how both of these actually work in practical.                   

SOAP is a standardized protocol that sends messages using other protocols such as HTTP(Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and SMTP(Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). It has strict guidelines and advanced security features. It uses only XML (eXtensible Markup Language) as its messaging format tool. Its design complexity and requirement of higher bandwidth leads to lower the speed of webpage. It also attains heavy weight architecture.

To overcome this problem of low speed connectivity and develop an easier style with much efficiency, REST API was born.

REST is and architectural style which uses multiple standards like HTTP(Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), JSON(Java Script Object Notation), URL(Uniform Resource Locator), and XML(eXtensible Markup Language) which make the process of creation much more easier. It requires less bandwidth and data can be delievered in many formats. It speeds up work of transactions and enables high efficiency in reaching out to desired websites fast.  The best example for this is the Word Press REST API which provides endpoints for WordPress data types so that you can interact remotely with the content of a WordPress site and achieve great things such as building mobile apps with Word Press.