gRPC is an open-source, high-performance Remote Procedure Call (RPC) framework that can run in any environment. It uses HTTP/2 as the underlying transport protocol, which allows for efficient and multiplexed communication. gRPC also uses Protocol Buffers, which are a language- and platform-neutral way of serializing structured data, as the underlying data serialization mechanism. This allows for efficient and compact communication, and it also allows for the use of multiple programming languages.

gRPC provides a number of features that make it well-suited for high-performance communication between services, such as bi-directional streaming, flow control, header compression, and authentication. It also provides support for a number of advanced features, such as load balancing, health checking, cancellation, and timeouts.

In terms of subscriptions, gRPC allows clients to subscribe to a specific piece of data or a stream of data, and the server will push updates to the client whenever the data changes. This is accomplished through the use of server-side streaming, where the server sends a stream of responses to the client. The client can then read the responses as they are received and act on the updates as necessary.

While WebSockets is a technology that allows for the creation of persistent, bidirectional connections between clients and servers. This is accomplished through the use of the WebSocket protocol, which is a

standardized protocol that is supported by most modern web browsers. WebSockets allow for full-duplex communication, which means that the client and server can send data back and forth to each other simultaneously.

In terms of subscriptions, WebSockets allow the server to push updates to the client whenever the data changes. This is accomplished through the use of message-based communication, where the server sends a message to the client containing the updated data. The client can then receive the message and act on the update as necessary.

Overall, both gRPC and WebSockets provide support for subscriptions and enable efficient communication between services. Which technology is the best fit for a particular application will depend on the specific requirements and use cases. gRPC is generally better suited for scenarios where high-performance and low-latency communication are required, while WebSockets are better suited for systems where the ability to maintain a persistent connection is more important.

The next publication will talk about how to use gRPC and web sockets in the cosmos ecosystem.

Watch out.