How do SOAP and REST protocols differ when creating API interfaces?

SOAP and REST are two different approaches to creating APIs:

• SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a protocol based on XML, with a rigid message structure and standards for security, transactions, etc. SOAP uses WSDL to describe the service and typically operates over HTTP, but can also use other protocols.

• REST (Representational State Transfer) is an architectural style that uses standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) to work with resources, usually represented in JSON or XML format. REST is simpler and easier to use, requiring no complex descriptions.

Main differences:

• SOAP is more formal, with strict standards, suitable for enterprise systems with high security and transaction requirements.
• REST is more flexible and lightweight, widely used for web services and mobile applications.

Example:

SOAP requests contain XML with a specific structure, while REST requests are regular HTTP requests to URLs with parameters and a body in JSON.