REST vs gRPC

Developers should learn REST when building web APIs or microservices, as it provides a standardized, scalable approach for client-server communication over HTTP 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.

REST

Nice Pick

Developers should learn REST when building web APIs or microservices, as it provides a standardized, scalable approach for client-server communication over HTTP

Pros

• It is widely used in modern web development, mobile app backends, and cloud services due to its simplicity, statelessness, and compatibility with existing web infrastructure
• Related to: http, api-design

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. REST is a concept while gRPC is a framework. We picked REST based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

REST wins

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