What are the key differences between REST and SOAP web services, and when would you choose one over the other?

During my final year of college, I worked on a group project where we developed a simple REST API for a student management system. We chose REST because it allowed us to easily retrieve and manipulate student data using standard HTTP methods. For instance, we used GET requests to fetch student records and POST requests to add new students. This hands-on experience taught me about the stateless nature of REST and how it simplifies interactions. It was a great learning opportunity, illustrating how REST’s flexibility made it easier for us to integrate with a front-end application built in JavaScript.

In a volunteer role at a local food bank, I helped design a simple application to track food donations. We opted for a RESTful approach because we needed the app to be accessible via mobile devices, allowing volunteers to report donations on the go. Using REST, we could easily update our database with new donation records using mobile-friendly HTTP requests. This experience reinforced my understanding of how REST's lightweight structure is ideal for applications requiring quick updates and user-friendly interfaces.

In my first job as a junior developer, I worked on a project that involved integrating a SOAP-based web service for a financial application. The client required strict security and transactional reliability due to the sensitivity of financial data. I learned how SOAP's built-in error handling and security features, like WS-Security, made it a strong choice for this application. This experience highlighted how sometimes, despite REST's popularity, SOAP could be the better option when dealing with complex security requirements and ensuring reliable messaging.