REST vs GraphQL: Modern API Design Approaches

REST and GraphQL represent two different philosophies for building APIs, each with its own strengths and ideal use cases.\\n\\n**REST (Representational State Transfer)** is the traditional approach using standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE) and multiple endpoints. Each endpoint returns a fixed data structure. REST is simple, cacheable, and well-understood by developers. It works great for CRUD operations and when your data structure is relatively stable.\\n\\n**GraphQL** is a query language that allows clients to request exactly the data they need through a single endpoint. Clients specify the shape of the response, eliminating over-fetching and under-fetching problems. GraphQL is ideal for complex, interconnected data and when you need flexibility in data fetching.\\n\\n**Key Differences:**\\n- REST uses multiple endpoints, GraphQL uses one\\n- REST returns fixed structures, GraphQL returns custom shapes\\n- REST is easier to cache, GraphQL requires more sophisticated caching\\n- REST is simpler to implement, GraphQL has a steeper learning curve\\n\\n**Choose REST when:** Building simple CRUD APIs, caching is important, team is familiar with REST, or working with third-party integrations.\\n\\n**Choose GraphQL when:** Frontend needs flexible data fetching, dealing with complex relationships, want to reduce API calls, or building for multiple clients with different needs.