What does gRPC typically offer over JSON/REST?

Options

1. Human-readable payloads that are easy to inspect by hand
2. Binary Protobuf over HTTP/2, strict contracts and streaming (Correct option)
3. Native browser support, without any proxy in between
4. No need for schemas, because messages describe themselves

Answer

Binary Protobuf messages over HTTP/2, strict contracts and bidirectional streaming

Why

gRPC defines services and messages in a .proto file and generates client and server code from it, so both sides share a strict contract.

Messages are compact binary (Protobuf) over HTTP/2, which is fast and supports streaming in both directions.

Great for internal service-to-service calls. Downsides: not readable by humans, and browsers need a proxy (gRPC-Web).

Remember

gRPC = fast, typed, binary; best between internal services.

Key terms

• gRPC
• JSON
• HTTP/2
• HTTP
• REST