If you are searching for the simplest explanation to the question "what is RPC in crypto?" You are at the right place. Let's find out in this article.
What is RPC in crypto?
The acronym RPC in the crypto sphere stands for Remote Procedure Call. RPCs are essential because they enable developers to connect one Web3 network (such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Polygon blockchains) with another. One of the critical use cases for RPC is developing dApps that have the capability to interact with more than one blockchain.
RPC is a vital link between the user of dApp, the application, and the on-chain information between blockchain nodes. Decentralized applications are powered by smart contracts that enable the execution of tasks, such as transactions, populating wallet balances, or fetching ownership information .
dApps provide a user interface to end-users. The RPC layer built into dApps allows separate parties to communicate with each other. For example, when using MetaMask to conduct transactions, users' requests are routed through an RPC to reach the data on the blockchain .
Pros and cons of RPC
Though it boasts a wide range of benefits, there is certainly a share of pitfalls that those who use RPC should be aware of.
Here are some of the advantages RPC provides for developers and application managers:
- Helps clients communicate with servers by the traditional use of procedure calls in high-level languages.
- Can be used in a distributed environment, and also in the local environment.
- Supports process-oriented and thread-oriented models.
- Hides the internal message-passing mechanism from the user.
- Requires only minimal effort to rewrite and redevelop the code.
- Provides abstraction, ie, the message-passing nature of network communication is hidden from the user.
- Omits many of the protocol layers to improve performance.
Disadvantages of RPC
- The client and server use different execution environments for their respective routines, and the use of resources (eg, files) is also more complex. Consequently, RPC systems aren't always suited for transferring large amounts of data.
- RPC is highly vulnerable to failure because it involves a communication system, another machine and another process.
- There is no uniform standard for RPC; it can be implemented in a variety of ways.
- RPC is only interaction-based, and as such, it doesn't offer any flexibility when it comes to hardware architecture.
Hopefully, now you have the answer to "What is RPC in crypto?"
