| gRPC | |
|---|---|
| Developer | |
| Initial release | August 2016; 9 years ago (2016-08) |
| Stable release | |
| Repository | |
| Written in | Android Java,C#,C++,Dart,Go,Java, Kotlin/JVM,Node.js, Objective-C,PHP,Python,Ruby |
| Type | Remote procedure call framework |
| License | Apache License 2.0 |
| Website | grpc |
gRPC (acronym forgRPC Remote Procedure Calls[2]) is across-platform high-performanceremote procedure call (RPC) framework. gRPC was initially created byGoogle, but isopen source and is used in many organizations. Use cases range from microservices to the "last mile" of computing (mobile, web, and Internet of Things). gRPC usesHTTP/2 for transport,Protocol Buffers as theinterface description language, and provides features such as authentication, bidirectional streaming andflow control, blocking or nonblocking bindings, and cancellation and timeouts. It generates cross-platform client and server bindings for many languages. The most common usage scenarios include connecting services in a microservices style architecture, or connecting mobile device clients to backend services.[3]
As of 2019, gRPC's use of HTTP/2 makes it impossible to implement a gRPC client in a browser, instead requiring a proxy.[4]
From about 2001, Google created a general-purpose RPC infrastructure called Stubby to connect the large number ofmicroservices running within and across itsdata centers.[5] In March 2015, Google decided to build the next version of Stubby and make it open source. The result was gRPC.
gRPC supports the usage ofTransport Layer Security (TLS) and token-based authentication. Connection to Google services must use TLS. There are two types of credentials: channel credentials and call credentials.
For token-based authorization, gRPC provides Server Interceptor[6] and a Client Interceptor.[7]
gRPC usesProtocol Buffers to encode data. Protocol buffers provide a serialization format and an Interface Definition Language.[8]
Some of the software tools used for testing gRPC implementations includePostman, ezy,[9] Insomnia, and Step CI.[10]
Many organizations use gRPC, includingUber,[11]Square,Netflix,IBM,CoreOS,Docker,CockroachDB,Arista Networks,Cisco,Juniper Networks,[12]Spotify,[13]Zalando,[14]Dropbox,[15] and Google as the original developer.
The open source projectu-bmc uses gRPC to replaceIntelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI).[16] On 8 January 2019,Dropbox announced that the next version of "Courier", their RPC framework at the core of theirservice-oriented architecture (SOA), would be migrated to be based on gRPC, primarily because it aligned well with their existing custom RPC frameworks.[17]
