HTTP API vs gRPC

Developers should learn HTTP APIs because they are fundamental for building web applications, mobile backends, and cloud services, enabling interoperability across platforms and technologies meets developers should learn grpc when building microservices architectures, real-time applications, or systems requiring low-latency, high-throughput communication, such as in cloud-native environments or iot platforms. Here's our take.

HTTP API

Nice Pick

Developers should learn HTTP APIs because they are fundamental for building web applications, mobile backends, and cloud services, enabling interoperability across platforms and technologies

Pros

• They are essential for implementing RESTful services, handling CRUD operations, and integrating third-party services like payment gateways or social media platforms
• Related to: rest-api, json

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

gRPC

Developers should learn gRPC when building microservices architectures, real-time applications, or systems requiring low-latency, high-throughput communication, such as in cloud-native environments or IoT platforms

Pros

• It is particularly useful for polyglot systems where services are written in different languages, as it provides language-agnostic contracts via protobuf
• Related to: protocol-buffers, http-2

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. HTTP API is a concept while gRPC is a framework. We picked HTTP API based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

HTTP API wins

Based on overall popularity. HTTP API is more widely used, but gRPC excels in its own space.