what is gRPC?

gRPC is an open-source, high-performance, universal Remote Procedure Call (RPC) framework that allows different applications and services to communicate with each other over a network. It was developed by Google and is now maintained by the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF).

The gRPC framework is a powerful tool for developing APIs that can handle a high volume of traffic while maintaining performance. It is widely adopted by leading companies to support various use cases, ranging from microservices to web, mobile, and IoT applications.

One of the key features of gRPC is its use of Protobuf (Protocol Buffers) as an Interface Definition Language (IDL) to define data structures and function contracts in a structured format using .proto files. This makes it easier to create and manage APIs while ensuring consistency and compatibility across different platforms and languages.

gRPC uses the Protocol Buffers data format for serializing structured data over the network. It supports multiple programming languages, including C++, Java, Python, Ruby, Go, Node.js, C#, and Objective-C.

gRPC provides a simple and efficient way to define remote procedures and their parameters using an Interface Definition Language (IDL). It generates client and server code automatically based on this IDL specification. The generated code handles all the networking details, allowing developers to focus on the business logic of their applications.

One of the key benefits of gRPC is its high performance. It uses HTTP/2 as its transport protocol, which provides features such as multiplexing, flow control, and header compression, resulting in lower latency and reduced bandwidth usage. Additionally, gRPC supports bi-directional streaming and flow control, making it suitable for building real-time applications.