Difference between GraphQL and Kafka API
Through APIs, different applications communicate with each other. There are different types of APIs available. For instance, there is REST API, GraphQL API, SOAP API, and Kafka API, and all of these types have specific features and use-cases.
Let’s take a look at GraphQL, Kafka APIs, and some of the differences between them.
GraphQL API
It is a query language that allows you to read and mutate the data in APIs. With GraphQL, you can easily solve the problems of under-fetching and over-fetching. You get precisely the data that you request. No more, no else. You have a single entry point, i.e., /graphql, that you use to get the data.
Kafta APIs
Apache Kafta is an event streaming platform that combines three capabilities so that you can implement different use cases. Event streaming is used to get data in real-time from other event sources like databases, sensors, mobile devices, cloud services, and software applications in the form of streams of events.
To perform different operations, Apache Kafka provides five core APIs:
- Admin API
- Producer API
- Consumer API
- Streams API
- Kafka Connect API
Difference Between GraphQL API and Kafka APIs
Let’s take a look at the differences between these two:
| GraphQL API | Kafka APIs |
|---|---|
| GraphQL uses queries and mutations to perform data operations. | Kafka APIs are used to implement data pipelines, real-time data streams, etc. |
| With GraphQL, you get only the data you have requested. | With Kafka API, you often are not interested in a response. |
| With GraphQL APIs, you can store data in the database on the server. | Kafka APIs store data in topics. |
| GraphQL relies on HTTP/1.1 for client-server communication. | It provides bidirectional communication. |
| GraphQL is mainly used on the frontend, with the server part often implemented in Node.js that defines mutation. | Kafta APIs are often used as an integration layer between backend components. |