Communication
gRPC
Understanding gRPC for high-performance service communication.
2 min readConcepts · System Design
What is gRPC?
gRPC is a high-performance RPC (Remote Procedure Call) framework developed by Google. It uses Protocol Buffers for serialization and HTTP/2 for transport.
gRPC vs REST
| Aspect | gRPC | REST |
|---|---|---|
| Protocol | HTTP/2 | HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2 |
| Serialization | Protocol Buffers (binary) | JSON (text) |
| Contract | Strict (.proto files) | Loose (OpenAPI optional) |
| Streaming | Built-in | Requires WebSocket/SSE |
| Browser support | Limited | Native |
| Performance | Faster | Slower |
Protocol Buffers
Define your service and messages in .proto files:
syntax = "proto3";
service UserService {
rpc GetUser (GetUserRequest) returns (User);
rpc ListUsers (ListUsersRequest) returns (stream User);
}
message GetUserRequest {
int32 id = 1;
}
message User {
int32 id = 1;
string name = 2;
string email = 3;
}Communication Patterns
Unary RPC
Server Streaming
Client Streaming
Bidirectional Streaming
Benefits
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Performance | Binary format, HTTP/2 multiplexing |
| Type safety | Generated code from proto files |
| Streaming | Native support for all patterns |
| Code generation | Auto-generate client/server code |
| Language agnostic | Support for many languages |
When to Use gRPC
Good for:
- Microservices communication
- Low-latency, high-throughput systems
- Streaming data
- Polyglot environments
Not ideal for:
- Browser clients (limited support)
- Simple CRUD APIs
- When human-readable format needed
Interview Tips
- Explain Protocol Buffers and binary serialization
- Know the four communication patterns
- Compare performance with REST
- Discuss when to choose gRPC vs REST
- Mention HTTP/2 benefits (multiplexing)
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