What is an API and difference between rest and soap?

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Accepted Answer

API stands for Application Programming Interface. REST and SOAP are two different types of APIs.

API stands for Application Programming Interface, which allows different software applications to communicate with each other.
REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style for designing networked applications, while SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol for exchanging structured information in web services.
REST APIs typically use standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE for communication, while SOAP APIs use XML for message format and can use other protocols like HTTP, SMTP, etc.
REST APIs are lightweight, easy to use, and widely adopted for web services, while SOAP APIs are more rigid, complex, and have stricter standards.
Example: Twitter API is a REST API, while Amazon Web Services (AWS) uses SOAP API for some of its services.

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