What are the primary differences between REST and GraphQL, and when would you choose one over the other?

During my final year project, I worked on developing a web application that managed student records. I had the option to use REST or GraphQL for the API. I chose REST because of its simplicity, which allowed me to quickly set up endpoints for CRUD operations. The RESTful design aligned well with my needs, as I could map the application’s resources (like students, courses, and grades) directly to URLs, making it intuitive for my team. This experience taught me the importance of choosing an API style that matched the project’s requirements and my limited experience level.

During my internship at a tech startup, I was part of a team that built a dashboard for visualizing user data. We initially implemented a REST API, but as the project evolved, we realized that clients needed customized data views. We decided to switch to GraphQL, which allowed us to create flexible queries that enabled the dashboard to load only the necessary data. This transition not only improved performance but also gave users a better experience by allowing them to request specific data points without over-fetching. This experience highlighted the value of adapting our approach based on user needs.

In my first job as a junior developer, I was involved in a project that used both REST and GraphQL. For straightforward data retrieval tasks, like fetching user profiles, we relied on REST because it was simple and easy to implement. However, for more complex queries where users required specific data, we utilized GraphQL, allowing for more efficient data retrieval. This experience taught me the importance of knowing when to use each approach based on the complexity and requirements of the application. It also reinforced the idea that both REST and GraphQL can coexist within the same project.