What is the primary protocol used by RESTful web services?

What is the primary protocol used by RESTful web services?

• A. FTP
• B. HTTP
• C. SMTP
• D. TCP

Answer: (B)

The primary protocol used by RESTful web services is HTTP. REST, which stands for Representational State Transfer, is an architectural style that utilizes the existing protocols of the web, with HTTP being the most established and widely used. HTTP enables communication between clients and servers through a set of methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, which align well with CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations that RESTful services typically perform. This protocol is designed with stateless interactions and can easily handle requests and responses in a simple, standardized format, often using JSON or XML for data interchange. By leveraging HTTP's capabilities, RESTful web services can take advantage of the web's infrastructure, offering scalability and ease of use across various platforms and client applications. Other protocols like FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) serve different purposes and are not specifically tailored for the stateless, resource-oriented design that RESTful principles promote.

The primary protocol used by RESTful web services is HTTP. REST, which stands for Representational State Transfer, is an architectural style that utilizes the existing protocols of the web, with HTTP being the most established and widely used.

HTTP enables communication between clients and servers through a set of methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE, which align well with CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations that RESTful services typically perform. This protocol is designed with stateless interactions and can easily handle requests and responses in a simple, standardized format, often using JSON or XML for data interchange.

By leveraging HTTP's capabilities, RESTful web services can take advantage of the web's infrastructure, offering scalability and ease of use across various platforms and client applications. Other protocols like FTP (File Transfer Protocol), SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) serve different purposes and are not specifically tailored for the stateless, resource-oriented design that RESTful principles promote.