gRPC Overview

gRPC is an open-source remote procedure call (RPC) framework developed by Google. It's a high-performance, language-agnostic framework that allows communication between distributed systems. gRPC enables clients and servers to communicate transparently, irrespective of their programming languages or platforms.

Key components of gRPC

Here are the aspects of gRPC:

• Interface definition language (IDL): Protocol Buffers is commonly used with gRPC to define the service methods and message structures in a language-neutral way. This allows for easy definition and modification of services.

• HTTP/2 as the transport protocol: gRPC uses HTTP/2 as its underlying protocol, offering features like multiplexing, header compression, and bidirectional streaming, leading to faster and more efficient communication between services.

• Support for multiple languages: gRPC supports multiple programming languages, including C++, Java, Python, Go, Ruby, JavaScript (Node.js), C#, and more, allowing developers to build interoperable systems across different languages.

• Support for different RPC styles: It supports various RPC styles, including unary (single request, single response), server streaming (single request, multiple responses), client streaming (multiple requests, single response), and bidirectional streaming (multiple requests, multiple responses).

gRPC is commonly used in microservices architectures and is known for its performance, reliability, and ease of use in building distributed systems. Its efficient handling of data and its ability to generate code for multiple languages from a single interface definition make it a popular choice among developers working on distributed applications.

Using gRPC in .NET

In .NET, gRPC is a first-class citizen, which means that the libraries that enable it are developed by Microsoft rather than third parties. The following playground demonstrates how gRPC is implemented in .NET on both the client and the server: