Amazon API Gateway supports various protocols for exposing APIs, including:
1. RESTful API
This is the most common and widely used protocol for web APIs. Amazon API Gateway allows you to create and manage RESTful APIs, where you define API resources, methods (such as GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.), and HTTP request and response mappings using API Gateway’s REST API model.
Primary use-cases include
- Building traditional web APIs with standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.) and resource-based URLs.
- Exposing APIs for legacy systems or third-party integrations that follow RESTful principles.
- Building APIs that are consumed by a wide range of clients, such as web browsers, mobile apps, and IoT devices.
2. WebSocket API
WebSocket is a protocol that enables bidirectional communication between web clients and servers over a single, long-lived connection. With Amazon API Gateway’s WebSocket API, you can create real-time, interactive APIs that support two-way communication between clients and servers, making it suitable for use cases like chat applications, gaming, and notifications.
Primary use-cases include
- Building real-time applications that require bidirectional communication between clients and servers, such as chat applications, gaming, and collaborative editing tools.
- Enabling real-time notifications, alerts, or event-driven communication in your applications.
- Building interactive applications that require instant updates and push notifications.
HTTP API
This is a more streamlined and simplified protocol for building APIs with Amazon API Gateway. HTTP APIs are designed for serverless architectures and provide features like automatic CORS handling, simplified authorization, and a more efficient payload format compared to RESTful APIs. HTTP APIs are generally recommended for building APIs for serverless applications, single-page applications (SPAs), and mobile applications.
Primary use-cases include
- Building serverless applications that use AWS Lambda as the backend, where APIs act as triggers for Lambda functions.
- Building APIs for single-page applications (SPAs) or mobile applications that require simplified authorization and CORS handling.
- Building APIs that need to handle a large number of requests with low latency, as HTTP APIs are designed to be highly performant and cost-effective for high-scale workloads.
Differences
It’s worth noting that each of these protocols has its own use cases, features, and trade-offs, so it’s important to carefully consider your specific requirements and use case when choosing the appropriate protocol for your API in AWS API Gateway.
It’s important to note that these are just some common use cases, and the appropriate protocol for your API in Amazon API Gateway depends on your specific requirements and use case. It’s recommended to thoroughly understand the features, capabilities, and trade-offs of each protocol before choosing the appropriate one for your API implementation.