What is the difference between API REST and Microservices?

Question

I would like to know the difference between a REST API and a microservice, advantages and disadvantages

Sachin Singh · Answer

Look at your phone it has a display with lot of Icons (menus) , you just click on it and don't know what's happening behind the scene , this is the purpose of Any Interface. An interface hides the complexity or you can say provides abstraction. API is an Interface for developers by developers , a developer doesn't need user interface, they just need the functionality to integrate in his application mainly the data that a function can return (in web terms) or the complete functionality if we don't talk about web, ex jquery has a lot of API , Entity framework has lot of API. Hardwares have API but the core functionality of any API is to provide an Interface(a means/door to consume) for functionalities. Now wherever i have said functionalities it is basically a microservice which can be grouped to make an application but to use those functionality obviously you need an interface that is API. Now Rest is nothing but an architectural style if i will say more correctly then Creating an API by utilizing the feautues of Http (Http verbs, Authentication schemes, Content Negoniation) is a Rest API.

Rijwan Ansari · Answer

Rest API is one of the most common kinds of web services available today though any client/applications can access your server or perform operations. Microservices is a architectural design and software design technique for handling complex and enterprise applications where there are can several services with web api(s) with different endpoint and can be hosted separately. However, they can be access via common api gateway as well. https://microservices.io/ https://dzone.com/articles/api-vs-microservices-a-microservice-is-more-than-j

Satya Karki · Answer

Hi, Microservices is an architectural style for developing a application in the form of small services which contains it's own process. As it is segregated into small services, it is lightweight. Nowadays microservices are popular in develoment because it is easier and faster to develop and work in seperate parts of an application. On the other hand, APIs are door ways to communicate internal and external developer to get data or access application's functionality. Both have their own use cases. You can get detailed idea on Microservices from below link: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/microservices/what-are-microservices

Yogi S · Answer

Both are differnt things. You make Microservices and they communicate with one another using APIs . There is a good tutorial to understand this concept: https://www.hosting.work/aspnet-core-microservice-web-api-crud-mongodb/

Maryna Bobrovskaya · Answer

Speaking of microservices architecture, here is a really useful article about its benefits: https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/benefits-of-microservices-architecture

Jaish Mathews · Answer

I tried to explain in most simple way. 1. REST API meant by an API which will be called using REST protocol. See REST protocol details here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representational_state_transfer 2. Microservices is not API, but an Architectural Style, which can be implemented using REST APIs. See detals of Microservices here. https://microservices.io/ NB: Usually its called Microservice s not Microservice

Varun Setia · Answer

My explanation in minimum number of words: REST is the way service will work/behave. Microservies is the way to organize the application code. Microservies can be built on top of REST,SOAP, etc.