Micro Services vs. Web Services: Everything You Need to Know - ECAP

In the modern application process, both micro services and web services have their own importance in their respective positions. Both are developed with the aim to have an automated solution for information systems. Nevertheless, we will discuss the contrasts of micro services vs web services.

Micro services vs. Web Services: What Is the Difference between Them?

A comparison between micro services and web services from a different aspect is following.

Definition

Micro service is a small and autonomous application that can perform on its own. It performs a specific service for a larger application, and it is a small part of the large architecture.

A web service is a web-based application, uses standard protocols, and can be accessed through web interfaces. A web service represents a web application’s functionality through a specific type of service-oriented architecture (SOA).

Types

Micro services can be divided into two types, stateless micro services, and stateful micro services. Stateless micro services do not maintain a session state between requests. At the same time, stateful micro services store session information in the code.

Know about why micro services need for you?

Architecture

Micro services architecture breaks traditional monolithic architecture into small and independent components. Each component has its own function and can run autonomously.

These small components form a group and connect to create a micro service-based application. Usually, they interconnect through API (Application Programming Interfaces).

Unlike micro services, web services do not function as an individual. Rather it creates a standardized way for multiple applications to interact with each other. This system is designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network.

The architecture of web services generally interacts among three roles, which are service provider, service requester, and service registry. These three interactions complete three tasks. They are published, find, and bind. 

Development

As mentioned earlier, micro services are independent and can operate individually. However, they can work with other programs as well. Moreover, they can be developed in any programming language.

On the other hand, web services can be developed in multiple teams, but they should maintain a common communication mechanism. Similar to micro services, web services also can be developed in different programming languages.

Communication

As micro services work individually, they have lower errors. An error is more manageable for micro services as they do not affect other operations. It is easy to identify an error and improve. 

In the case of web service, a single error can affect the entire system. As they are interconnected and operate as a whole, one fault becomes a massive problem. As the request goes through a single Bus, therefore, can create traffic.

Function

A micro service is made to perform small functions independently. They solve small problems for a larger system. The large system is divided into small modules for better understanding and development. These small modules or micro services can function on their own. They can be individually tested, improved, and deployed.

The key function of a web service is to integrate functions between multiple applications. The existence itself for a web service is not that important. It is mostly used to make an application–to–application task for businesses using standard internet protocols.

Size

As the name suggests, micro services are small components. They are small in size and have limited functionality. They are more compact compared to web services. 

On the contrary, web services are a combination of many business functions. They can be larger in size and get even larger when more functions are added.

Final Word

Depending on what a system requires, there could be a need for both micro servers and web servers. So, if you ask which one is better, there is no clear answer to that. Therefore, we have only shown a comparison of structure and functionality for micro services vs web services.