* REST and SOAP are the two web service frameworks
available on the Force.com platform.
* The SOAP API uses authentication
with username and password, and communicates using XML messages. There are
different API's to work with the Enterprise, Partner, Bulk, Metadata etc.
*The REST API uses HTTP to
authenticate, it uses a token authentication and can use OATH to
authenticate, it communicates using JSON messages.
*REST API is generally lighter
weight than the SOAP API, works well with mobile applications especially.
