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a big thing not called out here that both gRPC and GraphQL natively do, but that REST does not natively do, is schema definition for the payloads. It's massive
by ledauphin 6y ago
a big thing not called out here that both gRPC and GraphQL natively do, but that REST does not natively do, is schema definition for the payloads.
It's massively useful to know exactly what 'type' a received payload is, as well as to get built-in, zero-boilerplate feedback if the payload you construct is invalid.
- sagichmal 6y agoSure, but that utility also carries massive costs: the infrastructure and tooling required to work with those schema definitions, especially as they change over time. It's certainly not the case that the benefits always, or even usually, outweigh those costs.
- ledauphin 6y agoI disagree that tooling is required to work with them in the GraphQL case - you still end up getting and sending JSON in the vast majority of cases. With gRPC you're absolutely correct. Then again, I wasn't trying to make an argument for or against any of these technologies per se - just pointing out that this is a major part of the value provided that wasn't really called out in the article.