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gRPC - Google Remote-Procedure-Call-System

gRPC is a high-performance, open-source framework for Remote Procedure Calls that enables efficient communication between services in distributed systems. It is based on HTTP/2 and uses Protocol Buffers (Protobuf) for data serialization, which makes it faster and more efficient than traditional REST APIs that typically use JSON over HTTP/1.1. gRPC is often used for internal communication between microservices, in IoT systems, and for connection mobile applications with backend services where performance and efficiency are critical.

How It Works

gRPC allows a client application to directly call methods on a server application on a different machine as if it were a local object or function. The process typically involves the following steps:

  1. Service Definition: Developers define the service interface (methods, parameters, and return types) in a *.proto file using the Protocol Buffers Interface Definition Language.
  2. Code Generation: A special compiler protoc automatically generates client- and server-side code (stubs) in the desired programming language.
  3. Implementation: The server implements the generated service interface with the actual business logic, while the client uses the generated stub to call the remote methods.
  4. Communication: The client stub serializes the data into a compact binary Protobuf format and sends the request over HTTP/2 to the server. The server stub deserializes the data, executes the method, and sends the response back int he same manner.

Key Features and Benefits

  • High Performance: Low latency and high throughput are achieved through the use of the binary Protobuf format and the efficient HTTP/2.
  • Language Independence.
  • Streaming: It supports four types of service methods: unary (single request/response), server streaming, client streaming, and bidirectional streaming, facilitating real-time applications and the handling of large amounts of data.
  • Strict Contracts: The schema-based definition in the .proto files ensures strong typing and helps to detect errors at compile time rater than runtime.