InterviewHubPRO
Section Overview
Q37

Question 37 of 50

Part 4: API Design, Security & Edge Networking (37 - 43)

74%
System Design (50 Qs)•Part 4: API Design, Security & Edge Networking (37 - 43)

REST vs GraphQL vs gRPC: Serialization, Latency & Streaming Trade-offs.

In Simple Words:

  • REST: Standard over HTTP/1.1 or HTTP/2 using JSON. Great for public consumer APIs and caching at CDN edge.
  • GraphQL: Client specifies exact fields needed, eliminating over-fetching and under-fetching. Complex backend caching.
  • gRPC: Uses Protocol Buffers (binary serialization) over HTTP/2 multiplexing. Ideal for internal microservice-to-microservice communication (7–10x faster than REST/JSON).
Previous Question (36)

Zero-Downtime Database Migrations (Expand and Contract Pattern).

Next Question (38)

The API Gateway Pattern: Authentication, Rate Limiting & Aggregation.