Can you explain the differences between REST and GraphQL, and in what scenarios you would choose one over the other?

During my final year in college, I worked on a group project to develop a simple task management application. We decided to implement a REST API to manage tasks. Our application allowed users to create, read, update, and delete tasks, which aligned well with REST’s resource-oriented approach. We structured our API around resources like '/tasks' and used standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. This made it easy for us to understand and implement. The simplicity of REST helped us focus on building a functional user interface without overcomplicating the data-fetching process. By the end of the project, we had a working application that clearly demonstrated how REST APIs can effectively manage resources.

I volunteered with a local non-profit that aimed to connect volunteers with community service opportunities. They needed a more flexible way to query and display information about different projects. I suggested using GraphQL because it allows clients to specify exactly what data they need. For example, a volunteer could query for all upcoming events along with the number of available slots, rather than retrieving all event details. I helped design a simple GraphQL schema that made data retrieval more efficient. This experience showed me how GraphQL can be beneficial in scenarios where clients require varied data structures, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching of information.

In my first job as a junior developer at a tech startup, we faced a challenge with our existing REST API being too rigid for our evolving requirements. We had multiple front-end teams needing different data sets from the same API, leading to inefficiencies. I proposed using GraphQL for new features, as it would allow front-end developers to request only the data they needed. We implemented GraphQL alongside our REST services, which improved our flexibility and reduced the number of network requests. This experience taught me the importance of choosing the right tool for the job and how combining different approaches can lead to an optimal solution.