GraphQL vs REST Explained – Which API Should You Use?

flowindata · Beginner ·🔧 Backend Engineering ·9mo ago

Key Takeaways

The video explains the difference between GraphQL and REST APIs, highlighting their respective strengths and use cases, and provides guidance on choosing between them for API development.

Full Transcript

One of my students asks me, I keep hearing about GraphQL and REST APIs, but what's the actual difference? Let's break it down today with a simple example. With REST, you usually have multiple endpoints. For example, users gives you all users. Users one post gives you that users post. Okay? So if you meet different kinds of data, you might make several request and sometimes you get extra info you don't even need. Now graph works differently. There is just one endpoint and you specify exactly what you want in a single query. Example, give me the user's name and only the titles of their post and boom, you get exactly that, nothing more. So, here's the difference. Rest equals to multiple requests, sometimes extra data. GraphQ equals to one request, only the data you ask for. Both work. The choice depends on your

Original Description

What did we find out today? One of the most common questions developers have while developing APIs is "GraphQL or REST?" This video will teach you: - What a REST API is and how it works with more than one endpoint - What GraphQL is and how it works with one flexible query - In the real world, REST is like a set dinner and GraphQL is like making your own dish. - When to use GraphQL instead of REST (and the other way around) - The good and bad things about both types of APIs In summary, REST APIs send numerous requests (sometimes with extra data), but GraphQL provides you exactly what you ask for in one query.
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This video teaches the fundamentals of REST and GraphQL APIs, including their differences and use cases, to help developers choose the best approach for their API projects. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each, developers can design more efficient and effective APIs. The video provides a simple example to illustrate the difference between REST and GraphQL.

Key Takeaways
  1. Define the requirements of your API project
  2. Determine the type of data retrieval needed
  3. Choose between REST and GraphQL based on the project's needs
  4. Design the API endpoints or queries accordingly
  5. Test and optimize the API for data retrieval efficiency
💡 GraphQL allows for more flexible and efficient data retrieval by specifying exactly what data is needed in a single query, whereas REST APIs often require multiple requests and may return extra data.

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