What are the differences between a regular .htaccess protection and the method used by the Webservice in this scenario?

In this scenario, the Webservice is using a custom authentication method instead of a regular .htaccess protection. This custom method may involve checking user credentials against a database, generating and validating tokens, or using OAuth authentication. The Webservice's custom method provides more flexibility and control over the authentication process compared to a standard .htaccess protection.

// Custom authentication method in Webservice
function authenticateUser($username, $password) {
    // Check user credentials against a database or external service
    // Return true if authentication is successful, false otherwise
}

// Example usage of custom authentication method
if (isset($_POST['username']) && isset($_POST['password'])) {
    $username = $_POST['username'];
    $password = $_POST['password'];

    if (authenticateUser($username, $password)) {
        // User is authenticated, proceed with Webservice functionality
    } else {
        // Authentication failed, return an error message or redirect
    }
}