Vladimir on REST API vs gRPC

24-07-2018 Antonio Goncalves 0 all

Hi Vladimir, tell us who you are and what lead you into microservices?

I am founder and JUG Leader of AmsterdamJUG. I am part of profesional IT scene since 2006, in other words I am paid to develop software and solve complex problems in creative way since 2006. I had various titles over the years, Chapter Lead, IT Manager, Software Architect, IT consultant and so on. I worked also on all kind of projects over the years and of course with large number of users for your products, how to scale it up comes sooner or later, and that is how I came in contact with microservices 🙂

What will you be talking about at Voxxed Days Microservices?

I will take a look at REST and remote procedure call (gRPC to be more precise), which are common approaches in breaking up a monolith once people go towards microservices. I will share my knowledge and try to explain what are the differences between them and try to answer important questions when you should use one and when other for breaking up a monolith.

When we talk about RESTful architecture we think of embracing the HTTP protocol, using HATEOAS and other design patterns. When talking about gRPC we think of binary protocol. Why opposing REST and gRPC? Can’t they play well together?

They can go hand to hand very good. Main goal of my talk isn’t to say one or other is better, but more to give explanation of both approaches, where they are similar where they differ, and give answers to precisely this questions, when you should use one, when other and how to combine them to get the best result.