api/src/main/java/io/grpc/package-info.java

/*
 * Copyright 2015 The gRPC Authors
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

/**
 * The gRPC core public API.
 *
 * <p>gRPC is based on a client-server model of remote procedure calls. A client creates a channel
 * which is connected to a server. RPCs are initiated from the client and sent to the server which
 * then responds back to the client. When the client and server are done sending messages, they half
 * close their respective connections. The RPC is complete as soon as the server closes.
 *
 * <p>To send an RPC, first create a {@link io.grpc.Channel} using {@link
 * io.grpc.ManagedChannelBuilder#forTarget}. When using auto generate Protobuf stubs, the stub class
 * will have constructors for wrapping the channel. These include {@code newBlockingStub}, {@code
 * newStub}, and {@code newFutureStub} which you can use based on your design. The stub is the
 * primary way a client interacts with a server.
 *
 * <p>To receive RPCs, create a {@link io.grpc.Server} using {@link io.grpc.ServerBuilder#forPort}.
 * The Protobuf stub will contain an abstract class called AbstractFoo, where Foo is the name of
 * your service. Extend this class, and pass an instance of it to {@link
 * io.grpc.ServerBuilder#addService}. Once your server is built, call {@link io.grpc.Server#start}
 * to begin accepting RPCs.
 *
 * <p>Both Clients and Servers should use a custom {@link java.util.concurrent.Executor}. The gRPC
 * runtime includes a default executor that eases testing and examples, but is not ideal for use in
 * a production environment. See the associated documentation in the respective builders.
 *
 * <p>Clients and Servers can also be shutdown gracefully using the {@code shutdown} method. The API
 * to conduct an orderly shutdown is modeled from the {@link java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService}.
 *
 * <p>gRPC also includes support for more advanced features, such as name resolution, load
 * balancing, bidirectional streaming, health checking, and more. See the relative methods in the
 * client and server builders.
 *
 * <p>Development of gRPC is done primary on Github at <a
 * href="https://github.com/grpc/grpc-java">https://github.com/grpc/grpc-java</a>, where the gRPC
 * team welcomes contributions and bug reports. There is also a mailing list at <a
 * href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/grpc-io">grpc-io</a> if you have questions about
 * gRPC.
 */
package io.grpc;