What is the difference between SOAP and REST?

SOAP is a protocol.    REST is an architectural style.

1.  JAX-WS is the java API for SOAP web services.     JAX-RS is the java API for RESTful web services.     
2. SOAP defines standards to be strictly followed.        REST does not define too much  like SOAP.

3. SOAP requires more bandwidth and resource than REST.  REST requires less bandwidth and resource than SOAP

     4.SOAP is less preferred than REST.       REST more preferred than SOAP.

REST stands for Representational State Transfer, whereas SOAP stands for Simple Object Access Protocol.

1. REST is an architectural pattern, whereas SOAP is a protocol.
2. While REST employs uniform service locators to access the components on the physical device, SOAP uses service interfaces to provide its capabilities to client applications.
3. REST doesn't require much bandwidth, however SOAP uses more of it.
4. In contrast to the REST API, which also works with plain text, XML, HTML, and JSON, SOAP exclusively supports XML formats.