Difference between web service and API

Difference between web service and API
Through this article, you can better understand the difference between web service and API. Please take a few minutes to check it out!

What is web service?

Web service is a set of open standards and protocols used to exchange data information between different applications, systems, devices…

Or to put it more simply, web service can be understood as an intermediate communication method between two devices through a network connection.

It works completely independently and does not depend on any given language.

Applications as well as software written in different programming languages and running on many platforms can use web service to communicate with each other over computer networks.

A standard web service will work with the following components:

  • SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol): XML-based simple object access protocol that allows applications to exchange information over HTTP.
  • UDDI (Universal Description, Discovery and Integration): An XML-based standard for describing, publishing and finding web services.
  • WSDL (Web Services Description Language): An XML-based definition language that describes web services and how to access them.

Sự khác biệt giữa web service và API

What is API?

Currently, API (Application Programming Interface) is more widely applied than ever in the field of information technology.

This is an intermediate connection method, providing access to a set of commonly used functions, allowing two system components and applications to communicate and exchange data with each other.

Sự khác biệt giữa web service và API

Difference between web service and API

Both web service and API act as an intermediary means of communication.

However, there are some differences between them as follows:

WEB SERVICEAPI
  • A resource that operates on a network basis.
  • Every web service is an API.
  • Allows 02 applications, systems, devices... to interact with each other smoothly through network connection.
  • Using 03 main standards are SOAP, REST, XML-RPC to communicate between applications.
  • Always have to be connected to the network for it to work.
  • An interface that allows building on data of another application.
  • Every API is not a web service.
  • Acts as an interface between two different applications so that communication can be created between them.
  • Any means of communication can be used to create interactions between different applications.
  • Works without network requirements.

Besides, web service cannot perform API operations.