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For users new to RPC, this section will provide a broad overview of what it is, and of the different components involved in the process. If you're already familiar with how RPC works, feel free to skip this section. Speaking generically, RPC is a toolkit designed for distributed computing. It provides a framework for executing procedures on one system from another, completely independent system in a secure, reliable, and efficient manner. The best way to understand the RPC programming model is perhaps by compar-ing it to the "regular" programming model, in which procedures, or functions, are invoked on the same system or within the same program. Figure 6.1 and Figure 6.2 illustrate the difference. Figure 6.1. A local function call.
Figure 6.2. A remote function call.
As you can see from Figure 6.2, the RPC programming model is built completely around a client-server framework and consists of the following components:
Here's how it all comes together:
Obviously, this is a simplified version of the RPC programming model ”it does not address issues such as procedure registration, state maintenance, error handling, or security. However, it should be sufficient to explain the fundamental principles of the programming model, and lay the foundation for the material in subsequent sections. If you want to learn more about RPC, drop by this book's companion web site, which contains links to web sites with more information on the topic. |
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