APIs are a set of tools and routines that allow you to interact with an application or service. It’s a way of building software in layers so that each layer can be optimised for its purpose while still allowing the layers on top to build on those below it. Stateless and stateful APIs are the most important technologies you need to know about if you’re a web developer. And in this article, you can learn about stateless vs stateful APIs and their benefits.

What Is a Stateless API?

A stateless API is a web service that doesn’t store any information about you or your app. It can be called many times without impacting the server’s performance and incurring additional costs. And after each call, it returns fresh data, which allows for faster processing by your application and more flexibility in terms of scaling out capacity in case of increased demand. 

What Is a Stateful API?

A stateful API is also known as a session-based API, and it allows you to store data across requests and sessions. If you have ever used Google Maps or any other application that requires a login, then you have already interacted with a stateful API. 

What Are the Benefits of Stateless APIs?

Stateless APIs are easier to maintain and can be implemented more efficiently in a distributed environment, which makes them perform better. Continue reading to know more advantages.

• They are efficient and scalable: Stateless APIs can be much easier to scale and maintain, making them more efficient and scalable. It means that you don’t need a database or other central repository for your data.
• They are easier to implement fault tolerance: Stateless APIs are easier to understand when you consider how they work in practice. For example, if your application needs to know the current temperature outside, it can call the Weather service and receive an answer. This answer will be returned regardless of whether or not the Weather service has succeeded in accessing its data source.
• They have a simple and flexible architecture: A stateless API is a simpler architecture because it doesn’t require you to manage the state of your application. Each request can be processed independently, making it easier to scale up your service and add redundancy in case of failure.

What Are the Benefits of Stateful APIs?

A stateful API is one that maintains an interaction between many requests. And the following are a few of the benefits:

1. They allow for better and faster development: Stateful APIs are easier to develop and maintain. This is because the system’s state can be returned from a single request instead of stitching together multiple pieces of data from various requests. Concurrency control is also improved by stateful APIs. A developer does not have to worry about out-of-order responses or race conditions because all responses will reflect the system’s current state at any given time.
2. They are easier to troubleshoot: Stateful APIs have several advantages, but one of the biggest is their ease of debugging. As a developer, you can see what’s happening and what the state of your system is simply by inspecting it. It gives insights into how your code behaves and helps you troubleshoot issues more quickly than if you used an event-driven approach.
3. They are more predictable and consistent: Stateful APIs are more predictable and consistent. They can guarantee that a particular request will always produce the same response. 

This article must have indeed helped you understand stateless vs. stateful APIs. So, the next step is determining which type will work best for your project and implementing that API.