I know that SPA is nothing more than a specific WebApi , but the question is: How do I differentiate one from the other, ie, what is the purpose of each in the development world. Why would I develop a SPA instead of a WebApi ?
I think the question is not wide, because I want to know the difference between them.
Actually, these are two very different scopes.
SPA , or single-page application , is a definition of user interface behavior where content reloads do not occur, only partial exchanges - much like a typical desktop application. Your domain is the front-end .
WebAPI is a deployment definition of server-side functionality. The vast majority of WebAPI implementations are RESTful , however this is not mandatory. Your domain is the backend .
The implementation of the two in parallel is possible - a SPA interface (eg in Angular ) accessing resources made available via WebAPI.
