Android EP3: Network Connection in Android - Interview Question Included

May 02, 2023

This post will cover 3 semi topics of Network Connection in Android

TCP vs UDP
HTTP vs HTTPS
Some 3rd Libraries: OkHttp, Retrofit2
Related interview questions (2023)

TCP vs UDP

TCP and UDP are 2 primary transport layer protocols that serve different purposes. UDP is a connectionless, unreliable protocol with lower overhead, it’s suitable for real-time applications where speed is more important than reliability. In contrast, TCP is a connection-oriented, reliable protocol with built-in error checking and flow control, TCP is ideal for applications that require guaranteed data delivery and accuracy!

HTTP vs HTTPS

HTTP and HTTPS are protocols used to transmit data over the network.

While HTTP is an unsecured protocol that transmits data in plain text format, it is vulnerable to attack and offers users less trusted privacy.

HTTPS on the other hand, it’s a secured protocol that encrypts data using SSL/TLS, it provides increased protection that against attacks and enhances user privacy. HTTPS also offers users better SEO benefits.

OkHttp, Retrofit2

OkHttp is an Open source provided by Square. OkHttp is designed to be fast, secure, efficient, reliable, and supportive for Android or Java developers. OkHttp is a good solution for Developers if they need an HTTP Client for their apps.

Retrofit2 is an Open source library too, it is built on top of OkHttp. Retrofit2 provides us with a solution to consume RESTful web services. Some advantages of Retrofit2 to use:

Type-safe: You can make sure that the data you’re receiving is in the correct type, this helps to prevent errors, and the code is more readable.
Easy to use: Retrofit2 provides a simple solution to interact with RESTful APIs, the code is very familiar to read and understand.
Wide-range features: Connection Pooling, HTTP/2, Gzip compression, caching, and more to discover.

Dan Tech

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