Choosing Between REST and JSON-RPC
2025-12-08#API#REST#JSON-RPC
Model comparison
REST is resource-centric, JSON-RPC is method-centric; they differ in semantics and routing.
REST example
GET /users/1
POST /users
JSON-RPC example
{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"method": "getUser",
"params": { "id": 1 },
"id": 1001
}
Versioning and evolution
REST commonly versions via path or headers; JSON-RPC evolves via method versions or parameters.
Error handling
REST leverages status codes and bodies; JSON-RPC uses standardized error objects. Both require stable error contracts.
Selection guidance
Choose based on team habits, ecosystem tools, and cross-platform debugging: favor REST for clear resource modeling; JSON-RPC for explicit remote-call semantics.
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