O que é RPC? Introdução ao gRPC.

Summary

gRPC is an open-source, high-performance framework for remote procedure calls (RPC) that enables efficient communication between microservices. Built on HTTP/2 and using protocol buffers for data encoding, gRPC offers faster and more scalable services compared to traditional JSON-based approaches. It's widely used in data centers and mobile environments due to its support for multiple programming languages and efficient resource usage. While it can be used in web environments through gRPC Web, it's not yet fully compatible with standard web browsers. gRPC is especially beneficial for systems requiring high performance and low bandwidth usage, such as mobile devices and microservices architectures.

Takeaways

• 😀 gRPC is an open-source, high-performance framework that enables remote procedure calls (RPC) across different environments.
• 😀 gRPC is built upon Google's internal RPC architecture and was released as an open-source project in 2016.
• 😀 Remote Procedure Call (RPC) allows machines to invoke procedures on other machines as if they were local calls.
• 😀 gRPC is favored for microservices communication due to its support for multiple programming languages and platforms.
• 😀 gRPC uses Protocol Buffers (protobuf) as the preferred data encoding format, offering strong schema definitions and fast serialization.
• 😀 Protocol Buffers are efficient for data exchange and provide extensive tool support for various programming languages.
• 😀 gRPC uses HTTP/2 as its transport protocol, which enhances performance, scalability, and allows multiple streams over a single connection.
• 😀 HTTP/2 in gRPC supports multiplexing, which means multiple RPC calls can be handled efficiently with a low number of TCP connections.
• 😀 gRPC’s efficiency and binary encoding make it significantly faster (up to 5x) than JSON-based communication methods.
• 😀 While gRPC can be used in browsers through gRPC-web, it relies on low-level HTTP/2 mechanisms, which current browsers cannot fully support natively.
• 😀 gRPC excels in environments like data centers and mobile devices, where performance, low energy usage, and bandwidth efficiency are critical.

Q & A

What is gRPC?

gRPC is an open-source framework developed by Google for high-performance remote procedure calls (RPC). It facilitates communication between distributed systems, making it ideal for microservices architectures.

What does RPC stand for, and how does it work?

RPC stands for Remote Procedure Call. It allows one machine to execute procedures or functions on another machine as if they were local calls, making it a powerful tool for communication between distributed systems.

Why is gRPC becoming popular for microservices communication?

gRPC is popular for microservices because of its high performance, scalability, and the ability to work efficiently with multiple programming languages, making it a versatile solution for connecting microservices across diverse systems.

What is the role of Protocol Buffers in gRPC?

Protocol Buffers, or 'protobuf,' are used by gRPC to define the structure of data exchanged between systems. It is a compact binary format that improves performance and efficiency compared to alternatives like JSON.

What are the key advantages of using gRPC?

The key advantages of gRPC include its high performance (due to Protocol Buffers and HTTP/2), scalability, language flexibility, and its ability to handle numerous concurrent connections with fewer TCP connections.

What limitations does gRPC have?

A major limitation of gRPC is that it relies on HTTP/2, which is not supported by modern web browsers for direct client-to-server communication. However, gRPC Web addresses this limitation with partial support, but it doesn't offer the full capabilities of standard gRPC.

How does HTTP/2 contribute to gRPC's performance?

HTTP/2 allows multiple streams over a single TCP connection, reducing the overhead of managing multiple connections. This results in better performance and scalability, particularly for handling a high number of simultaneous RPC calls.

Can gRPC be used for web applications?

gRPC can be used in web applications through gRPC Web, but this has limitations compared to standard gRPC. gRPC Web provides a way to use gRPC in the browser, although it doesn’t offer the full potential of gRPC's features.

In what scenarios is gRPC especially useful?

gRPC is especially useful in microservices architectures and mobile applications, where performance, efficiency, and scalability are crucial. Its low bandwidth usage and high-speed data exchange make it a good fit for resource-constrained environments like mobile devices.

Why might developers choose gRPC over other RPC frameworks?

Developers might choose gRPC over other RPC frameworks due to its performance, the ability to handle large-scale systems, its use of Protocol Buffers for data exchange, and its compatibility with a wide range of programming languages, offering great flexibility for cross-platform communication.