With the clear dominance of microservices architecture, communication between different components of a system is a critical aspect of today’s software paradigm. Two popular methods of achieving this communication are through REST (direct communication), and message brokers (indirect communication). Each approach has its own set of advantages and trade-offs, making it essential for developers to understand the differences between them in order to make informed decisions when designing and building their systems.
Although the two feel like serving completely different use cases and do not intertwine, in many cases and architectures, they are. In this article, we’ll delve into the disparities between REST and message brokers in terms of way of communication, helping you make the right choice for your specific use case.