Table of Contents

    Protocol Comparison Table

    Protocol Comparison Table

    Protocol Type Data Format Based On Best Used For Complexity Performance Used in D365 F&O?
    HTTP/HTTPS Communication Protocol Any (JSON, XML, HTML) TCP/IP Web communication Low High ✅ Yes (foundation)
    REST Architectural Style Mostly JSON HTTP Lightweight APIs Low High ✅ Yes
    OData Open Standard Protocol JSON (mostly), XML REST + HTTP Standardized data querying Medium High ✅ Yes (very common)
    SOAP Protocol XML only HTTP, SMTP Enterprise systems, strict contracts High Medium ✅ Yes (Custom services)
    GraphQL Query Language + Runtime JSON HTTP Flexible frontend data fetching Medium High ❌ Not native
    gRPC High-performance Protocol Protobuf (binary) HTTP/2 Microservices, high-speed systems Medium Very High ❌ Not native
    WebSocket Communication Protocol JSON, text, binary TCP Real-time communication Medium Very High ❌ Not typical

    Simple Understanding

    • REST → Simple and lightweight

    • OData → REST + standardized querying

    • SOAP → Strict, XML-based enterprise protocol

    • GraphQL → Client controls data shape

    • gRPC → Fastest, binary communication

    • HTTP → Base transport layer