Difference Between API and Web Services | API Automation Explained
By Bhau Automation • API Testing • Automation • REST Assured
📘 What You Will Learn
- What is API & Web Service?
- Difference between API and Web Services
- REST vs SOAP explained
- Real-world examples
- How API works internally
- API Automation basics
📌 What is an API?
API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules that allows one software application to communicate with another.
🌐 What is a Web Service?
A Web Service is a type of API that works over a network using HTTP protocols like REST or SOAP.
📊 Difference Between API and Web Services
| Feature | API | Web Service |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | Any | HTTP/HTTPS only |
| Architecture | Flexible | REST or SOAP |
| Usage | Software to software | Web-based communication |
| Formats | JSON/XML | JSON/XML |
| Dependency | Can be offline | Always online |
⚙️ REST vs SOAP
- REST is lightweight
- SOAP is XML based and heavy
- REST uses GET, POST, PUT, DELETE
- SOAP uses WSDL specification
🧪 API Automation Using REST Assured
given()
.when()
.get("https://api.example.com/users")
.then()
.statusCode(200);
📺 Watch Part-1 & Part-2
▶ Difference Between API and Web Services
▶ Differences Between GET and POST
🎯 Interview Questions
- Is every API a Web Service?
- Difference between REST and SOAP?
- GET vs POST?
- What is HTTP status code?
✅ Key Takeaways
- API enables application communication
- Web services are always network based
- REST is industry standard
- API automation is future career skill
🚀 Created with ❤️ by Bhau Automation