A microservice is a small, single service offered by a company. It derives from the distributed computing architecture that connects many small services, rather than having one large service. The microservice can then be delivered through an application programming interface (API).
An API is a method of communication between a requester and a host, most often accessible through an IP address. The API can communicate multiple types of information to users, such as:
- Data you want to share
- A function you want to provide
In short, talk of a microservice has to do more with the software’s architecture, and the API has to do with how to expose the microservice to a consumer.
How microservices work
Microservices extend from the idea that a company provides a large, single service. Microservices come as individual functions. If Microsoft Word were to be split into microservices, perhaps there would be one offered as the blank sheet of paper, one as a spell checker, one service as a…
