\n| CPU usage (high load)<\/td>\n | Baseline<\/td>\n | ~30% lower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n These numbers vary significantly by use case. Simple APIs with small payloads show less difference. APIs with large payloads, high throughput requirements, or many inter-service calls show larger differences.<\/p>\n The gRPC Contract: Protocol Buffers<\/h2>\ngRPC’s biggest difference from REST is the mandatory contract \u2014 a .proto<\/code> file that defines your service:<\/p>\n\/\/ orders.proto\r\nsyntax = \"proto3\";\r\n\r\npackage orders;\r\n\r\noption php_namespace = \"App\\\\Proto\\\\Orders\";\r\n\r\nservice OrderService {\r\n rpc GetOrder (GetOrderRequest) returns (Order);\r\n rpc ListOrders (ListOrdersRequest) returns (ListOrdersResponse);\r\n rpc CreateOrder (CreateOrderRequest) returns (Order);\r\n rpc UpdateOrderStatus (UpdateStatusRequest) returns (Order);\r\n\r\n \/\/ Server streaming \u2014 server sends multiple responses\r\n rpc WatchOrder (GetOrderRequest) returns (stream OrderUpdate);\r\n\r\n \/\/ Client streaming \u2014 client sends multiple requests\r\n rpc BatchCreateOrders (stream CreateOrderRequest) returns (BatchResult);\r\n}\r\n\r\nmessage Order {\r\n int64 id = 1;\r\n string client_name = 2;\r\n double total_value = 3;\r\n OrderStatus status = 4;\r\n repeated OrderItem items = 5;\r\n int64 created_at = 6;\r\n}\r\n\r\nenum OrderStatus {\r\n PENDING = 0;\r\n PROCESSING = 1;\r\n COMPLETED = 2;\r\n CANCELLED = 3;\r\n}\r\n\r\nmessage OrderItem {\r\n int64 product_id = 1;\r\n string product_name = 2;\r\n int32 quantity = 3;\r\n double unit_price = 4;\r\n}\r\n\r\nmessage GetOrderRequest {\r\n int64 order_id = 1;\r\n}\r\n\r\nmessage ListOrdersRequest {\r\n int32 page = 1;\r\n int32 per_page = 2;\r\n OrderStatus status_filter = 3;\r\n}\r\n\r\nmessage ListOrdersResponse {\r\n repeated Order orders = 1;\r\n int32 total = 2;\r\n}<\/code><\/pre>\nFrom this single file, tools generate:<\/p>\n \n- PHP server implementation stubs<\/li>\n
- PHP client code<\/li>\n
- JavaScript\/TypeScript client<\/li>\n
- Go, Python, Java, Rust clients \u2014 any language with protobuf support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Implementing gRPC in PHP\/Laravel<\/h2>\ncomposer require grpc\/grpc google\/protobuf<\/code><\/pre>\n# Generate PHP code from .proto file\r\nprotoc --php_out=app\/Proto --grpc_out=app\/Proto \\\r\n --plugin=protoc-gen-grpc=`which grpc_php_plugin` \\\r\n proto\/orders.proto<\/code><\/pre>\n<?php\r\n\r\n\/\/ app\/Services\/OrderGrpcService.php\r\nnamespace App\\Services;\r\n\r\nuse App\\Models\\Order;\r\nuse App\\Proto\\Orders\\Order as ProtoOrder;\r\nuse App\\Proto\\Orders\\ListOrdersResponse;\r\nuse App\\Proto\\Orders\\OrderServiceInterface;\r\nuse Grpc\\ServerContext;\r\n\r\nclass OrderGrpcService implements OrderServiceInterface\r\n{\r\n public function GetOrder(\r\n \\App\\Proto\\Orders\\GetOrderRequest $request,\r\n ServerContext $context\r\n ): ProtoOrder {\r\n $order = Order::with(['client', 'items'])\r\n ->findOrFail($request->getOrderId());\r\n\r\n return $this->mapToProto($order);\r\n }\r\n\r\n public function ListOrders(\r\n \\App\\Proto\\Orders\\ListOrdersRequest $request,\r\n ServerContext $context\r\n ): ListOrdersResponse {\r\n $orders = Order::query()\r\n ->when($request->getStatusFilter(), fn($q, $status) =>\r\n $q->where('status', $status)\r\n )\r\n ->paginate($request->getPerPage(), ['*'], 'page', $request->getPage());\r\n\r\n $response = new ListOrdersResponse();\r\n $response->setTotal($orders->total());\r\n\r\n $protoOrders = $orders->map(fn($o) => $this->mapToProto($o));\r\n $response->setOrders($protoOrders->toArray());\r\n\r\n return $response;\r\n }\r\n\r\n private function mapToProto(Order $order): ProtoOrder\r\n {\r\n $proto = new ProtoOrder();\r\n $proto->setId($order->id);\r\n $proto->setClientName($order->client->name);\r\n $proto->setTotalValue($order->total_value);\r\n $proto->setStatus($order->status->value);\r\n $proto->setCreatedAt($order->created_at->timestamp);\r\n\r\n return $proto;\r\n }\r\n}<\/code><\/pre>\nThe Four Streaming Modes<\/h2>\nThis is where gRPC genuinely has no REST equivalent:<\/p>\n service DataService {\r\n \/\/ 1. Unary \u2014 one request, one response (same as REST)\r\n rpc GetData (Request) returns (Response);\r\n\r\n \/\/ 2. Server streaming \u2014 one request, stream of responses\r\n \/\/ Perfect for: live order tracking, log streaming, notifications\r\n rpc StreamUpdates (Request) returns (stream Update);\r\n\r\n \/\/ 3. Client streaming \u2014 stream of requests, one response\r\n \/\/ Perfect for: batch uploads, progressive file uploads\r\n rpc BatchUpload (stream DataChunk) returns (UploadResult);\r\n\r\n \/\/ 4. Bidirectional streaming \u2014 both sides stream simultaneously\r\n \/\/ Perfect for: real-time chat, live collaboration, trading feeds\r\n rpc LiveSession (stream ClientMessage) returns (stream ServerMessage);\r\n}<\/code><\/pre>\ngRPC-Web: The Browser Problem<\/h2>\ngRPC’s biggest limitation: browsers can’t use it directly. HTTP\/2 in browsers doesn’t expose the low-level features gRPC needs.<\/p>\n The solution: gRPC-Web, a proxy layer (typically Envoy or a Go proxy) that sits between the browser and your gRPC server:<\/p>\n Browser \u2192 gRPC-Web proxy \u2192 gRPC server\r\n(HTTP\/1.1) (translates) (HTTP\/2)<\/code><\/pre>\nThis adds infrastructure complexity. For public-facing APIs consumed by browsers, REST is still simpler. For internal service-to-service communication where both ends are servers, gRPC is excellent.<\/p>\n
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