The main difference between microservices and web services is that the microservices refer to an approach to application development in which a large application is built as a suite of modular components or services while web services refer to a set of standards or protocols that allows various applications to communicate with each other via the World Wide Web (WWW).
Microservice is an architectural style or an approach that allows dividing a large application into multiple services. It is possible for each service to be built, deployed and managed independently. On the other hand, web service provides a language-independent environment to ensure communication between different technologies and applications.
Key Areas Covered
1. What are Microservices
– Definition, Functionality
2. What are Web Services
– Definition, Functionality
3. What is the Difference Between Microservices and Web Services
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Microservices, Web Services
What are Microservices
Microservice is an architectural style that structures an application as a collection of small autonomous services modeled around a business domain. A large application can be divided into smaller multiple services. Each service performs their corresponding task to ensure the proper functioning of the entire system. These services are independent of each other. Therefore, microservices make the development process easier.
Figure 1: Microservice Architecture
For example, assume an e-commerce web application. Each component is divided into separate modules. Every request and response to a microservice is an independent transaction. This application can have microservices for the product, cart, customer, etc. Each has their own data models. Implementation details of one service are hidden from the other services. When a request comes from the client, it first goes to the API gateway. Then the API gateway will send the request to the appropriate microservice. If the client requests multiple services, the API gateway will provide aggregated services.
There are multiple advantages of microservices. Each service can be developed and deployed independently. It is also easier to identify faults, and do testing and deploy changes. Furthermore, microservices support granular scaling. In other words, the services can be scaled independently.
What are Web Services
A web service is a collection of standards or protocols for exchanging information between two applications or devices. Different applications use different languages and technologies. It is difficult for these applications to communicate with each other. Web services provide a solution to this issue. It builds the common platform for various applications to exchange information with each other. For example, a PHP application can communicate with .NET or Java application via a web service.
Figure 2: Web Services
SOAP and REST are two examples of web services. SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol. It is an XML based protocol. It is platform and language independent. Therefore, it can be executed on any platform. SOAP web services are more useful for enterprise applications that require higher security.
REST stands for Representational State Transfer. A web service that confirms the REST architectural style is a RESTful web service. It is platform independent, more flexible and consumes less bandwidth and resources.
What is the Difference Between Microservices and Web Services
Definition
Microservices are architectural styles that structure an application as a collection of loosely coupled services. Web services are protocols or standards that are used to communicate between applications and devices on the network. This explains the basis of the difference between microservices and web services.
Functionality
In microservices, an application is divided into services. Each service runs a unique process and manages its own database. Whereas, the web service works as the common platform for different applications to communicate. This is one main difference between microservices and web services.
Application
Another main difference between microservices and web services is their application. Microservices allows dividing the application into multiple modules or services in a loosely coupled manner so that they are independent of each other. It makes it easier to develop the application. On the other hand, web services provide standard or protocols for exchanging information between various devices or applications.
Conclusion
The difference between microservices and web services is that microservices refer to an approach to application development in which a large application is built as a suite of modular components or services while web services refer to a set of standards or protocols that allows various applications to communicate with each other via the World Wide Web (WWW).
Reference:
1. “What Are Microservices | Microservices Architecture Training | Microservices Tutorial” Edureka!, 23 Mar. 2018, Available here.
2. “What Is Microservices? – Definition from WhatIs.com.” SearchMicroservices, Available here.
3. “What Is Web Service” Www.javatpoint.com, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Microservice Databases with a new service” By Xiaoan888 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Webservice xrpc” (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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