Blog > Microservices vs. API | What is the Difference?
What are Microservices?
The term microservices is defined as its most commonly known as microservice architecture. It’s an architectural style to build the applications; these applications are software applications. So, users can structure an application to collect small or standard Services models around the business domain. In this article we are discussing Microservices vs. APII.
What is API?
API stands for Application Program Interface. API is a way users can make sure two or more applications can communicate to process the client request.
It’s a point of contact through which all the services communicate to process the client request and send the response. The client will send a particular request through API for the respective functionality or feature. That specific functionality or feature will retrieve the requested data and then send back the client’s response. So, API is working as a middle person between the client and application to communicate. When a client sends a request, it is called an HTTP request.
Uses of APIs in Micro-Services
As we know, API works as a middle person between the client and the respective feature of the functionality. So, the particular feature or the functionality can go into a specific service. When the client requests all the products available in the application, the request will directly go to that particular service, and a response will generate back. To refactor an application into microservices, it will allow a specific service to add some particular functionality to it. Then it will provide its data access layer and database, and for each microservice, there is a separate API.
In a typical e-commerce application, customer microservice will have a separate API, data access layer, and database and similarly goes with the product micro-service and micro cart service. Microservices also allows using separate databases for every microservice or two or three microservices to share a common database. When a client sends a request to get information about a particular data, the API gateway will decide which service for this specific request has to be sent so that the client can retrieve the required data from the API. Then the API sends back the requested response to the client.
Difference between Micro-Service and API
Microservice and APIs are completely two different things. Microservices are an architectural style through which a user can build applications in the form of small autonomous services. API is a set of procedures and functions that allow the consumer to use the underlying service of an application.
Advantages of Microservice Architecture
Independent Development: Each service can develop independently. If a user has a product service, they can update a service without redeploying the entire application bug fixes. Some new feature releases are more manageable and less risky because users need to focus on one particular service.
Fault Isolation: If a service goes down, it won’t take the entire application down with it, and it’s a great advantage.
Mixed Technology Stack: This feature allows teams to pick any technology that best fits their service.
Granular Scaling: With this feature, services can be scale independently.
Companies using Microservices
There are lots of large and small companies using microservices such as:
- Amazon
- NETFLIX
- Uber
- eBay
- PayPal
- SoundCloud
These are operating at a large scale because they become easier to manage when broken into smaller pieces. The use of micro-services with APIs is revolutionary to grow a business in less time.
Users need some specific functionalities for their E-commerce application such as; Customer Information, products, online payments, product availability, etc., and microservice makes it easy for businesses. The combination of microservice and API allows the business application to communicate with each other, making a business more efficient and reliable.
Author: SVCIT Editorial
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