Question

What is the relationship between REST and JSON?

Answer 1

REST is the acronym for REpresentational State Transfer. It is a kind of software. It is a software architectural style. It defines a constraint set that should be used to create Web services. It provides standards between computer systems on the web.

Whereas JSON is the acronym for JavaScript Object Notation. It is a programming language. It is a lightweight format and uses human-readable text to store and transport or transmit data objects that hold attribute-value pairs and array data types. JSON is used to send data from a server to a webpage. It is easy to understand. It is self-describing. It is technically an open standard file format. It is also a data-interchange format. Thus, it is basically a syntax. It is easy to be parsed.

JSON is associated with REST services, even when REST is format agnostic. In terms of data or message formats, JSON being the most commonly used format, REST lets users, software developers, or programmers use XML, JSON, YAML, HTML, pure text, and custom formats. Thus, REST uses JSON or XML for sending and receiving data. The results of REST are readable that is just plain or pure JSON or XML. While comparing protocols, REST APIs use JSON, XML, and other MIME response types. The REST architecture permits Application Programming Interface (API) providers for delivering messages in different formats, for example, JSON, YAML, HTML, and XML. It is a much appreciated and loved feature. REST's human-readable and lightweight JSON format has gained traction because it is very much suitable or compatible with effortless and quick exchanges of data.