gRPC is an RPC framework originally invented at Google. Unlike Thrift, gRPC makes use of existing technologies, specifically protocol buffers, for its IDL and HTTP/2 for its transport layer. After having completed the previous recipe, aspects of gRPC will feel similar to aspects of Thrift. Instead of the Thrift IDL, types and services are defined in a .proto file. The .proto file can then be used to generate code using the protocol buffer's compiler.
Now let’s see what is gRPC and what does it offer? Well, gRPC is a high-performance, open-source framework for remote procedure calls (RPC) developed by Google. It uses Protocol Buffers as the interface description language and supports a wide range of programming languages, making it easy to build distributed systems that work across different platforms and environments.
Here are some scenarios when gRPC is a good choice:
When you require high performance and efficiency because gRPC uses a binary protocol and supports streaming, which can make it much faster and more efficient than other protocols, particularly over high-latency or low-bandwidth connections.
When you require to support a wide range of programming languages because gRPC supports many programming languages, including Java, C++, Python, and Go, making it easy to build distributed systems that work across different platforms and environments.
When you need to support real-time updates because gRPC supports bidirectional streaming, which allows servers to send updates to clients in real-time.
When you need to work with large amounts of data since gRPC uses Protocol Buffers, which are more efficient and compact than other data formats like JSON or XML, making it a good choice for working with large amounts of data.
When you need to build microservices or distributed systems because gRPC provides a powerful and flexible framework for building microservices and distributed systems that can scale horizontally and handle large volumes of traffic.