REST vs RPC vs GraphQL: Choosing the Right API Style
APIs are the glue that connects modern applications. Whether you’re building a public-facing service or a complex microservices ecosystem, the design style of your API plays a huge role in performance, usability, and maintainability. Three common approaches dominate today’s landscape: REST , RPC , and GraphQL . Each comes from a different philosophy, and each has strengths and trade-offs. Let’s compare them. 1. REST (Representational State Transfer) REST treats everything as a resource and interacts with those resources using standard HTTP methods. It’s resource-oriented and built on the web’s existing semantics. Example : GET / users / 123 → fetch user 123 PUT / users / 123 → update user 123 GET / users / 123 / orders → fetch orders for user 123 ✅ Pros Standardized and predictable Widely supported by tools and libraries Leverages HTTP features (caching, status codes, headers) Great for resource-centric systems ❌ Cons ...