Let me share a ππ«ππ©π‘ππ π―π¬. ππππ πππ guide with you today.
Imagine booking a restaurant online.
ππ’ππ‘ πππ¬π: You send a request for booking options, and the system βtalks backβ with available rooms.
ππ’ππ‘ ππ«ππ©π‘ππ: You ask for exactly what you need, maybe just availability and prices and get a tailored response.
Both systems facilitate communication, but how they do it differs, and each has its strengths.
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Think of REST APIs as waiters in a restaurant. You (the client) send an order (request), the API takes it to the kitchen (server), gets your food (data), and brings it back. Itβs efficient, but sometimes you get more food than you need or need to make multiple requests for a complete meal.
GraphQL is more like a customized buffet. You tell it exactly what dishes (data) you want, and it serves just those items, all in one trip.
ππ§ ππππ:
β’ GET: Asking for the menu (fetching data)
β’ POST: Ordering food (creating new data)
β’ PUT: Changing your order (updating data)
β’ DELETE: Sending back your plate (removing data)
β’ PATCH: Asking for extra sauce (partially updating data)
ππ§ ππ«ππ©π‘ππ:
- You can ask for any combination of data in a single request, whether itβs just the appetizer or the entire meal (nested data).
- You control what the response looks like.
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REST is simple, using familiar HTTP methods. However, you often receive more data than needed or must make multiple requests.
GraphQL is more flexible, letting you request exactly what you want in one call, minimizing data over-fetching or under-fetching.
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