Explain the main difference between REST and GraphQL

The main difference between REST and GraphQL is how they handle data fetching and manipulation.

In a REST API, the client makes HTTP requests to specific endpoints that return fixed data structures. The client has no control over the shape of the response - it gets exactly what the server returns, which can lead to over-fetching (getting more data than needed) or under-fetching (needing to make multiple requests to get all the required data)[1][2].

In contrast, GraphQL uses a single endpoint and lets the client specify exactly what data it needs in the request body using a declarative query language. The client can request only the fields it requires, preventing over-fetching. GraphQL also allows fetching data from multiple sources in a single request[1][3].

Some other key differences:

• REST uses standard HTTP methods like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE to...