What is the main function of REST in web services?

The main function of REST, which stands for Representational State Transfer, is to define a set of architectural constraints and principles for creating web services that leverage HTTP(s) protocol. RESTful services allow different systems to communicate over the web in a standard way, using the existing structure of URLs, HTTP methods (like GET, POST, PUT, DELETE), and stateless communication.

By adhering to the constraints defined by REST, developers can create APIs that are scalable, easy to maintain, and can easily integrate with other services. This approach facilitates the transfer of data between clients and servers, adhering to the principles of resource identification through URIs, representation of resources through various formats (such as JSON and XML), and stateless interactions.

While encryption, archiving, and performance improvement are important aspects of web technologies, they are not the primary function of REST itself. REST focuses specifically on how resources are defined and addressed using standard web technologies.