Frontend System Design Course
Frontend System Design
/
Expert

gRPC Web

Definition

gRPC is a high-performance RPC framework built on HTTP/2 using Protocol Buffers (protobufs). gRPC-Web allows browser clients to communicate directly with gRPC backend services using binary data instead of heavy JSON.

Explain Like I'm New

JSON is a heavy, slow, text-based language. Protobufs are a super-compressed binary language that computers can read infinitely faster.

Interview Questions

basic

  • What is the core concept of gRPC?
  • What are the pros and cons of gRPC?

intermediate

  • How does gRPC impact SEO and initial page load times?
  • When would you NOT choose to use gRPC?

advanced

  • How does gRPC fit into a heavily scaled microservices architecture?
  • What are the security implications of gRPC?

trick

  • Can you combine gRPC with other rendering strategies on the same page?

Flash Cards

Question

Define gRPC.

Click to reveal answer
Answer

gRPC is a critical architectural pattern in frontend design.

Question

What is the main tradeoff of gRPC?

Click to reveal answer
Answer

Usually a tradeoff between Server CPU usage, TTFB (Time to First Byte), and Client CPU usage.