Apache Thrift vs REST

Overview

Apache Thrift

Stacks193

Followers245

Votes0

GitHub Stars10.8K

Forks4.1K

REST

Stacks238

Followers198

Votes0

Apache Thrift vs REST: What are the differences?

Introduction

Apache Thrift and REST are both used for creating APIs, but they differ in several ways. Here are the key differences between Apache Thrift and REST:

Wire Protocol:
- Apache Thrift uses a binary wire protocol, while REST typically uses JSON or XML.
- The binary wire protocol used by Apache Thrift is more efficient in terms of bandwidth usage and processing speed compared to the textual formats used by REST.
Data Serialization:
- Apache Thrift defines its own data serialization format, which is optimized for efficiency.
- In contrast, REST relies on standard formats like JSON or XML for data serialization, which can be less efficient in terms of space and processing.
Service Definition:
- Apache Thrift uses a service definition language to define its APIs, which allows for the automatic generation of client code and server stubs.
- REST does not have a specific service definition language and relies on documentation to define its APIs.
Language Support:
- Apache Thrift supports a wide range of programming languages, including C++, Java, Python, and more.
- REST is language-agnostic and can be used with any programming language that supports HTTP.
Error Handling:
- Apache Thrift provides built-in support for error handling, with the ability to define custom exceptions.
- REST relies on HTTP status codes for error handling, without any standardized mechanism for defining custom exceptions.
Performance and Scalability:
- Apache Thrift is designed for high-performance and scalable applications, with features like connection pooling and binary protocols optimized for efficiency.
- REST is more lightweight and simpler, making it easier to implement, but it may not be as performant or scalable as Apache Thrift in certain scenarios.

In Summary, Apache Thrift differs from REST in terms of wire protocol, data serialization, service definition, language support, error handling, and performance/scalability.

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Detailed Comparison

Apache Thrift	REST
The Apache Thrift software framework, for scalable cross-language services development, combines a software stack with a code generation engine to build services that work efficiently and seamlessly between C++, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, Erlang, Perl, Haskell, C#, Cocoa, JavaScript, Node.js, Smalltalk, OCaml and Delphi and other languages.	An architectural style for developing web services. A distributed system framework that uses Web protocols and technologies.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 10.8K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks 4.1K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 193	Stacks 238
Followers 245	Followers 198
Votes 0	Votes 0
Pros & Cons
No community feedback yet	Pros 4 Popularity

What are some alternatives to Apache Thrift, REST?

gRPC

gRPC is a modern open source high performance RPC framework that can run in any environment. It can efficiently connect services in and across data centers with pluggable support for load balancing, tracing, health checking...

MessagePack

It is an efficient binary serialization format. It lets you exchange data among multiple languages like JSON. But it's faster and smaller. Small integers are encoded into a single byte, and typical short strings require only one extra byte in addition to the strings themselves.

Protobuf

Protocol buffers are Google's language-neutral, platform-neutral, extensible mechanism for serializing structured data – think XML, but smaller, faster, and simpler.

Avro

It is a row-oriented remote procedure call and data serialization framework developed within Apache's Hadoop project. It uses JSON for defining data types and protocols, and serializes data in a compact binary format.

Serde

It is a framework for serializing and deserializing Rust data structures efficiently and generically. The ecosystem consists of data structures that know how to serialize and deserialize themselves along with data formats that know how to serialize and deserialize other things. It provides the layer by which these two groups interact with each other, allowing any supported data structure to be serialized and deserialized using any supported data format.

Apache Dubbo

It is a high-performance, light weight, java based RPC framework. Dubbo offers three key functionalities, which include interface based remote call, fault tolerance & load balancing, and automatic service registration & discovery.

JSON-RPC

It is a very simple protocol, defining only a few data types and commands. It allows for notifications (data sent to the server that does not require a response) and for multiple calls to be sent to the server which may be answered out of order.

Mercury

A modular JSON-RPC library that allows pluggable transport layers, JSON libraries, and effect/async monads. It is used to communicate with embedded devices where the device is acting in the server role.

Sonic

It is a blazingly fast JSON serializing & deserializing library, accelerated by JIT (just-in-time compiling) and SIMD (single-instruction-multiple-data).

Tars

It is an open-source microservice platform. It contains a high-performance RPC framework and a service management platform. Based on Tars, you can develop a reliable microservice system efficiently. It is designed for high reliability, high performance, and efficient service management. By significantly reducing system operation work, developers can focus on business logic and meet fast changes of user requirements.

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Apache Thrift vs REST: What are the differences?

Introduction

Apache Thrift and REST are both used for creating APIs, but they differ in several ways. Here are the key differences between Apache Thrift and REST:

Wire Protocol:
- Apache Thrift uses a binary wire protocol, while REST typically uses JSON or XML.
- The binary wire protocol used by Apache Thrift is more efficient in terms of bandwidth usage and processing speed compared to the textual formats used by REST.
Data Serialization:
- Apache Thrift defines its own data serialization format, which is optimized for efficiency.
- In contrast, REST relies on standard formats like JSON or XML for data serialization, which can be less efficient in terms of space and processing.
Service Definition:
- Apache Thrift uses a service definition language to define its APIs, which allows for the automatic generation of client code and server stubs.
- REST does not have a specific service definition language and relies on documentation to define its APIs.
Language Support:
- Apache Thrift supports a wide range of programming languages, including C++, Java, Python, and more.
- REST is language-agnostic and can be used with any programming language that supports HTTP.
Error Handling:
- Apache Thrift provides built-in support for error handling, with the ability to define custom exceptions.
- REST relies on HTTP status codes for error handling, without any standardized mechanism for defining custom exceptions.
Performance and Scalability:
- Apache Thrift is designed for high-performance and scalable applications, with features like connection pooling and binary protocols optimized for efficiency.
- REST is more lightweight and simpler, making it easier to implement, but it may not be as performant or scalable as Apache Thrift in certain scenarios.

In Summary, Apache Thrift differs from REST in terms of wire protocol, data serialization, service definition, language support, error handling, and performance/scalability.