REST APIs: Representational State Transfer (REST) is the predominant architectural style for building web services. It provides a structured, standardized way to expose backend functionality. Key benefits:
Lightweight: Simple format (usually JSON), ideal for efficient communication.
Scalability: Handles large numbers of requests gracefully.
Language/Platform Agnostic: Can be built and consumed across different technologies.
GraphQL: A query language for APIs that offers more flexibility and control than REST. Key benefits:
Reduced over-fetching/under-fetching: Clients fetch only the data they need.
Strong Typing: Reduces errors and improves codebase understanding.
Great for complex data scenarios
WebSockets: Enable real-time, bi-directional communication between the backend and clients (like web UI). Key benefits:
Real-time updates: Data changes are pushed to clients instantly.
Persistent Connection: No overhead of constant HTTP requests.
Useful for streaming data, dashboards, chat systems, etc
Integration Technologies:
Message Queues: Help in decoupling components in complex pipelines, promoting asynchronous communication.
Reliability: Durable messaging in case of component failure.
Load Balancing: Handles bursts in incoming requests.
Popular options: RabbitMQ, Kafka, Amazon SQS, ActiveMQ
RPC (Remote Procedure Call): Allows direct function calls between distributed systems. Modern variants (like gRPC) are highly efficient and cross-language compatible.
Tight Coupling: Good for direct, synchronous communication patterns.
Faster than some REST interactions in specific scenarios
Data Formats:
JSON: JavaScript Object Notation. Lightweight, human-readable, and the most common standard for data exchange in web APIs.
XML: Older but still used, allows for extensive markup of data.
Protocol Buffers: Binary format from Google. Efficient serialization and deserialization make it suitable for high-performance scenarios.
Choice Considerations:
Pipeline Complexity: Simple pipelines might need only REST APIs, while complex data structures and real-time needs could point towards GraphQL and WebSockets.
Data Transfer Volume: Large data volumes might favor Protocol Buffers for efficiency.
Real-time Requirements: WebSockets are essential for real-time data flows and updates.
Developer Experience: Your team's familiarity with technologies plays a role in selection.