The Latest on REST and GraphQL Endpoints
REST APIs are a widely used way to send and receive data from a server on the internet. Requests are sent to a REST endpoint using HTTP and are designed to provide data or access on demand for anyone sending a request and the client and server are independent of one another. Responses from a REST endpoint are typically returned in JSON format.
Most APIs with Salesforce use REST and custom endpoints can be exposed using REST.GraphQL is a newer system for API endpoints designed to improve on certain shortcomings of REST.
It is a query language that allows clients to send a request to an endpoint for the specific data that they need rather than getting all data from the endpoint. Similar to REST, a request is sent to an endpoint over HTTP and a response is returned as JSON.
GraphQL was introduced into Salesforce with the Winter ’23 update!