Core Service
Tridion Sites provides two "Core Service" remote APIs that lets implementers interact with Content Manager from a third-party application or graphical user interface: Core Service.REST and the WCF Core Service.
Core Service.REST
Core Service.REST is a RESTful web service that is the preferred API for interacting with Content Manager. Core Service.REST is used by the Experience Space user interface and it provides native support for Translation Manager and External Content Library.
The Core Service.REST API was first introduced in Tridion Sites 9.6. Core Service.REST provides a number of benefits over the WCF-based Core Service, including the following:
- Native support for Translation Manager and External Content Library makes it unnecessary to use separate APIs for these features
- Easy to use with support for:
- Hateoas links
- JSON-based models
- Support for cross-platform applications
- Aligned list of item properties across all lists
- Authentication through Tridion Access Management (preferred) or Windows
WCF Core Service
The WCF Core Service (also called simply "Core Service" before Tridion Sites 9.6 ) is a WCF/SOAP-based web service for interacting with Content Manager. The WCF Core Service API is used by all Classic user interfaces, including Content Manager Explorer and Experience Manager. The API enables you to implement Automatic Activities to control Workflow.
The WCF Core Service supports WS-I Basic Profile 1.1 and more advanced WS-* protocols.