Following are some key differences between SOAP and REST:
|
SOAP
|
REST
|
| It is an XML-based message protocol. | It is an architectural style. |
| WSDL is used for communication between client and server. | XML or JSON is used to send and receive data between client and server. |
| Services are invoked by calling the RPC method. | Services expose endpoints via URLs. |
| Response is easily readable by a human. | Response is readable in the form of plain XML or JSON. |
| Data transfer occurs over HTTP. It leverages protocols such as SMTP, FTP, and so on. | REST data transfer occurs over HTTP only. |
| It is difficult to call a SOAP service from JavaScript. | It is very easy to call a REST service from JavaScript. |
