Handling communications between clients and servers can be quite frustrating in web development! Ensuring security between requests and responses is no walk in the park.
It all changed when REST API development was launched! Dev communities love its simplicity and similarities with object-oriented programming (OOP).
REST has been the OG protocol to handle server-to-client communication. Yet, a newer approach is killing it on API safety and communication between front and back ends: tRPC.
Companies like Netflix, Invisible, Cal, Pleo, Newfront and Dr. B already use tRPC!
tRPC is probably the most efficient way to work with APIs (at least for now).
But does that mean you should migrate from REST? Is it the best option for every case?
In this post, we cover all the necessary aspects of REST and tRPC so you can decide which one is best for you!
What is REST API Communication?
Most APIs you hear about are surely RESTful. REST became a game-changer, quickly overtaking SOAP because of its ease of use, flexibility and scalability.
REST handles communication through HTTP status codes (GET, POST, PUT, and DELETE) using specific URIs represented by URLs. It also allows JSON or XML to improve communications.
That’s why it became the standard way to develop Web Applications. There are, however, some issues with REST that you should be aware of. We'll look into them later.
Let's review what makes REST relevant despite having modern alternatives like tRPC and GraphQL.
Pros of REST API
1. REST API Flexibility
Being the most popular API protocol, it has a vast pool of learning resources. Likewise, a wide range of technologies and programming languages support it.
Some techs include JavaScript, Python, Java, Ruby, Kotlin, C# and more. As mentioned, REST also supports JSON and XML messaging formats, which are quite popular data formats. Likewise, it does wonders with HTML, YAML, and plain text format.
2. REST API Popularity
Everyone knows about REST! Since so many teams use it, you’ll most surely come across it. REST is still necessary for anyone wanting to enter web and mobile development.
You can use it with cross-platform frameworks like React Native and Flutter. They have useful built-in functions and third-party libraries that allow you to fetch data with ease.
3. REST API Scalability
Scalability is another big reason why REST became so popular. Its simple and lightweight architecture makes it relatively easy to scale larger applications.
Principles that make RESTful APIs highly scalable include catching for high performance and statelessness for horizontal scaling.
4. REST API Simplicity
REST principles are easy to understand and implement. It follows standard HTTP methods that promote discoverability, providing a uniform and consistent interface.
This structure leads to familiar ecosystems for developers with previous experience in HTTP methods. It also eases RESTful services for clients.
Cons of REST API
1. REST API Over/Under-Fetching
The way REST structures and retrieves data can cause over- or under-fetching issues that affect performance. RESTful APIs tend to retrieve a fixed amount of data for every request.
Imagine you have a big request object like a user with multiple values (name, age, address and profession). Let’s say you want to fetch one or two values.
The request will still fetch all the other values leading to an inefficient over-fetching. It can also happen that the client needs more data than the fixed request allows. More requests to get the desired data can lead to increased latency.
2. REST API Endpoint Duplication
Another common problem with RESTful APIs is endpoint duplication, especially if the endpoints’ purposes are similar or overlap.
A classic example is an eCommerce app with a resource for products and another for categories. The API may require retrieving products by category and categories by product.
Multiple clients (like mobile apps and browsers) may also require the same API endpoints for their needs. This endpoint duplication can cause redundancies and inefficient allocation.
3. REST API Team Communication
If different teams work on front and back ends with REST, communication issues can lead to delays and inefficiencies.
REST forces the front and back end to stay in constant communication. The goal is to avoid unclear contracts, inconsistent naming conventions and over- and under-fetching.
What is tRPC API Communication?
tRPC stands for TypeScript Remote Procedure Call, and it inherits the principles of RPC.
Developed by Bruce Jay Nelson in 1981, RPC allows programs to communicate by implementing procedures or functions.
Likewise, the tRPC client-to-service communication protocol (2021) provides a modern and streamlined approach to RPCs. Its advantages include performance optimizations to minimize network overhead.
In simple terms, tRPC uses TypeScript functions or methods to handle client and server communication. This new approach allows teams to focus solely on the logic while it uses TS to take care of communication. tRPC has strong IDE support, meaning it will detect changes on any side of the app (client or server) in compile-time.
Pros of tRPC API
1. tRPC API Safely-Typed
Type safety and autocomplete between clients and servers is h*ll of an accomplishment! What’s more, it makes a ton of frustrations disappear.
tRPC uses TypeScript to check routes, variables, and functions to ensure all their names match. Teams can fix errors timely and easily so they don’t reach the end user.
You can also add seamless data validation to your project using ZOD. This approach is highly advisable if you work with React!
2. tRPC API No Under/Over-Fetching
As mentioned above, over-fetching and under-fetching are common issues with RESTful APIs.
Like GraphQL, tRPC allows you to define and get only the needed data. This structure avoids bloated responses and duplicate requests.
What’s more, tRPC enables you to do this without learning a different language or framework.
3. tRPC API Tooling
tRPC easily integrates with popular tools in the JavaScript ecosystem, like React and Next. That reduces learning curves and allows teams to build a world-class product with a single language.
4. tRPC APIs Communication
Some protocols require devs to construct and parse HTTP requests manually. Yet, tRPC provides a standardized way to define and call remote methods as local functions.
This advantage can improve communication and boost productivity and efficiency.
Cons of tRPC API
1. tRPC API Flexibility
You can only implement tRPC using TypeScript. Yes, TypeScript is among the most popular programming languages in the world.
However, some developers may prefer to work with other languages. Even some JavaScript developers may not want to dedicate time to learning it.
REST is a much more mature API protocol that you can implement with almost any language (including TS).
2. tRPC APIs Monorepo
To get the most out of tRPC, you must keep your project in a single file: a monorepo. This feature can be attractive for small projects as it eases maintaining consistency.
Yet, it can be complex to manage and organize the code in large projects where many developers collaborate. Ensuring the code is reusable for more clients can also be difficult.
3. tRPC APIs Adoption
As mentioned, REST is the standardized way for developers to handle client-to-server communication.
Given the fact that most of the APIs in the world are RESTful, REST will have a significant priority over tRPC for a while.
Yet, tRPC is only two years old, and what it has achieved so far is breathtaking!
Conclusion
tRPC is an elegant and modern protocol that handles faster communications between servers and clients.
Today, it allows teams to build top-notch modern applications with a unique programming language.
It may be a popular choice for projects involving JavaScript tools like React, Next, or Express.
If the project has existing GraphQL and REST APIs, adding tRPC for new requirements could also simplify things.
However, migrating existing APIs might not be practical for development times.
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