What distinguishes a REST service?

A REST (Representational State Transfer) service is distinctly recognized for its foundation in a set of architectural principles that emphasize stateless communication. This means that each request from a client to the server must contain all the information needed to understand and process the request, independent of any previous requests. This statelessness allows for enhanced scalability, as servers do not need to store session information between requests, facilitating better performance and reliability.

The emphasis on stateless communication is a core tenet of the REST architecture, influencing the way resources are handled and interacted with over HTTP. Each request operates in isolation, which streamlines the server's workload and simplifies the interaction model for clients, making REST services versatile and easier to implement across diverse web applications.

In contrast, other options present characteristics that do not accurately define REST. While REST can utilize various data formats, including JSON and XML, it is not limited to XML alone. Additionally, it does not require specialized software; rather, it can be implemented with standard web technologies. Lastly, REST services do not inherently operate only on secure networks; they can be configured to run on both secure (HTTPS) and non-secure (HTTP) networks, depending on the specific security requirements and implementations.