HTTP Connector or SDK

Choosing an appropriate connection method is crucial to building efficient and effective integrations. Consider the strengths of the HTTP connector and Connector Software Development Kit (SDK) to decide which is best for your specific integration.

Why Use the HTTP Connector

The HTTP connector is a simpler, more direct way to integrate with external systems via their HTTP-based APIs. It is particularly useful for proof of concepts and lightweight integrations.

Minimal Technical Requirements

• The HTTP connector is ideal for users with minimal development experience. It vastly reduces the effort involved in setting up an integration.

Ideal for Simple Integrations

• The HTTP connector is great for straightforward integrations such as creating invoices in accounting systems or retrieving metrics from analytics applications.

Prebuilt Connector

• Because the HTTP connector is prebuilt, it can be used to build integrations with any system with internet-accessible APIs, even if they do not already have a connector.

Quickly Implement a Proof of Concept

• The HTTP connector provides a fast and straightforward approach to demonstrate the feasibility of an integration.

Fast and Efficient Data Integration

• The HTTP Connector is the fastest and most efficient way to integrate data, especially when the integration requirements are straightforward.

Why Use the SDK

The SDK offers a comprehensive and flexible framework for advanced use cases such as handling rate limits, advanced data filtering, and creating complex data relationships. If you need any of the following features, please see our Why Build? section. 

Rate Limiting Issues

• The SDK often includes built-in mechanisms to handle rate limits imposed by the API, ensuring smooth operation even under constraints. Additionally, it leverages a middle layer (the cache layer) provided by our platform. This reduces the need to call the API every time a flow runs, further optimizing performance and reliability.

Advanced-Data Filtering

• The SDK offers additional filtering capabilities beyond those natively supported by the API. This allows you to perform complex functions like looking up a specific employee rather than retrieving all employees every time.

Retrieve Cached Information

• The SDK can provide access to cached information in a target system, enhancing the performance and reliability of integrations. This is also useful for debugging purposes.

Create Relationships Between Data

• The SDK makes it straightforward to create and manage relationships between different datasets.

Work Requests

• The SDK supports the use of work requests, offering added functionality for many integrations.

Trigger Support

• The SDK is better suited for use cases that require trigger support to react to specific system events.

Productizing the Integration

• The SDK offers a more robust and scalable framework for development and deployment.

Supports Non-Standard Authentication

• The SDK supports non-standard authentication methods, while the HTTP connector does not.

Additional Capabilities

• The SDK supports some capabilities not yet supported by the HTTP connector. These include pagination, cache writing, redefining calls, type safety, file support, and trigger support.

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