Integration 1 : Salesforce API's : REST, SOAP, BULK v2.0

REST:

SOAP:

Bulk API 2.0:

Tooling API:

Pub/sub API:

Streaming API:

Metadata API:

Here are some differences between Metadata vs Tooling API:

  • Purpose

    The Metadata API is for moving whole components, while the Tooling API is for building them.

  • Speed

    The Metadata API is slower than the Tooling API.

  • Use cases

    The Tooling API provides a platform for debugging, code coverage, and auto complete. It can also be used when you need fine-grained access to an organization's metadata.

  • While there is overlap, the Tooling API is specifically designed to help developers build IDE apps for salesforce, while the metadata API is more general purpose configuration migration. For example, you can get a symbol table for a class, such as it's members and functions, without writing your own parser.

  • The metadata API is suitable for simple migrations, but the Tooling API gives developers a platform for debugging, code coverage, auto complete, and more.

    Consider the migration toolkit versus the Force.com IDE, and you'll see the difference. One lets you move configuration changes, the other lets you develop new code entirely (minus, if course, the fact that auto complete isn't present in current IDE builds). The Developer Console also shows the power of the Tooling API.

  • Technically, the Tooling API could completely replace the metadata API, since the metadata API, came first and is less powerful, but it will be supported for some time to come yet.

  • New projects should probably use the Tooling API as much as practical, but the metadata API is widely supported, in comparison, so it will be a while yet until it is completely replaced.