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.
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.
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 SERVICE | API |
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Besides, web service cannot perform API operations.