What is the difference between REST and RPC?

REST is an architectural style that models interactions around resources using standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE. It emphasizes stateless communication and resource oriented design.

RPC, or Remote Procedure Call, focuses on invoking actions or functions on a remote server as if they were local calls. It is typically more operation focused rather than resource focused.

REST is generally preferred for public web APIs due to its simplicity and cache friendliness, while RPC based approaches like gRPC are often used in internal microservices where performance and strong contracts are more important.