Blockchain platform Sui showcases the complete beta version of its gRPC support feature.
In a significant move, the Sui Blockchain has unveiled the full beta version of gRPC support for its Full Nodes. This update promises to revolutionize the way data is served and consumed within the blockchain, enhancing the overall performance, efficiency, scalability, and developer experience of decentralized applications (dApps) built on Sui.
The advantages of using gRPC over JSON-RPC are manifold. For starters, gRPC offers lower latency and higher throughput, thanks to its use of HTTP/2 and Protocol Buffers for binary serialization. This results in significantly faster data transmission, about 7 times faster in some benchmarks, enabling near real-time interactions crucial for blockchain and dApp responsiveness.
Another key advantage is strong typing and client code generation. gRPC supports strong typing and automatic client generation across multiple languages such as Rust, Go, TypeScript, and Python. This improves code maintainability, reduces bugs, and accelerates dApp development compared to JSON-RPC's loosely typed JSON.
Moreover, gRPC supports bidirectional streaming and multiplexing over a single connection. This allows Sui full nodes to push real-time data updates efficiently, vital for live transaction tracking, NFT activity, and state subscriptions in dApps.
The efficient serialization and streaming also contribute to better scalability and cost efficiency. Case studies with other companies show that gRPC adoption can lead to significant infrastructure cost savings, such as a 40-50% reduction in network/storage costs.
Improved security and maintainability are also benefits of gRPC. The strongly typed contracts and maintainable interfaces in gRPC APIs provide a clearer, more secure integration path compared to the often implicit contracts of JSON-RPC.
For the Sui ecosystem, this means dApps can build more responsive and interactive user experiences with near real-time on-chain data. Exchanges and indexers benefit from more reliable and scalable access to historical and live blockchain data. Node operators and service providers can handle growing ecosystem demand more efficiently and cost-effectively.
The ecosystem moves towards a modern, modular data layer architecture involving gRPC as the canonical full node API, supporting both raw data access and higher-level derived data schemas (e.g., via GraphQL).
The transition from JSON-RPC to gRPC is part of Sui's broader vision to revamp blockchain data serving and consumption. The foundation is laying the groundwork for a next-generation indexer framework to meet the demands of complex Web3 applications.
The beta release of gRPC support is a foundational milestone in Sui's evolution, positioning the platform for better support of future decentralized applications and services within the Web3 ecosystem. Developers are encouraged to begin transitioning their infrastructure, with detailed documentation and proto files available on GitHub for support.
With gRPC, Sui is taking a significant step towards modernizing blockchain data access, offering a transformative impact on dApps by providing faster, richer, and more scalable data access directly supporting real-time, complex blockchain workflows essential in decentralized finance, NFT platforms, and beyond.
Dashboards that display real-time data on Sui decentralized applications (dApps) can now be developed more efficiently, thanks to the adoption of gRPC technology, which offers lower latency and stronger typing compared to JSON-RPC. With gRPC, the Sui ecosystem can facilitate near real-time interactions and enhance scalability for various blockchain use cases, such as decentralized finance, NFT platforms, and beyond.
