What are the differences between using WebClient and RestTemplate for making HTTP requests in an application?

WebClient and RestTemplate are two clients for making HTTP requests in Spring, but they have key differences:

• RestTemplate is a synchronous client, blocking the thread until a response is received. It is simpler to use for basic tasks but does not support reactive programming.

• WebClient is an asynchronous and reactive client from Spring WebFlux. It allows writing non-blocking code, making it better suited for high-load applications and working with data streams.

Example of using WebClient:

WebClient client = WebClient.create("https://api.example.com");
String response = client.get()
    .uri("/data")
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(String.class)
    .block(); // blocks to get the result synchronously

If the application does not require reactivity, RestTemplate is simpler, but WebClient is a more modern and flexible choice.