REST API Endpoints vs GraphQL

Developers should learn REST API endpoints when building or consuming web services, as they provide a standardized way to expose and interact with data over the internet, commonly used in web and mobile applications, microservices, and integrations meets developers should learn graphql when building modern web or mobile applications that require flexible, efficient data fetching, such as in complex frontend-backend integrations or microservices architectures. Here's our take.

REST API Endpoints

Nice Pick

Developers should learn REST API endpoints when building or consuming web services, as they provide a standardized way to expose and interact with data over the internet, commonly used in web and mobile applications, microservices, and integrations

Pros

• For example, an e-commerce app might use endpoints like '/products' to list items and '/orders' to place purchases, facilitating clear and predictable interactions
• Related to: http-methods, json

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

GraphQL

Developers should learn GraphQL when building modern web or mobile applications that require flexible, efficient data fetching, such as in complex frontend-backend integrations or microservices architectures

Pros

• It's particularly useful for scenarios where clients need to avoid multiple round-trips to servers or when APIs must evolve without breaking existing queries
• Related to: apollo-client, relay

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. REST API Endpoints is a concept while GraphQL is a tool. We picked REST API Endpoints based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

REST API Endpoints wins

Based on overall popularity. REST API Endpoints is more widely used, but GraphQL excels in its own space.