Avro: IDL & RPC
Explore how Avro's Interface Definition Language (IDL) simplifies schema definition and enables remote procedure calls (RPC). Learn schema generation, auto-code creation, and the proxy pattern that supports secure and efficient method invocation across distributed systems.
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Avro IDL & RPC
Other serialization formats such as Thrift, Protocol Buffers, and others provide an Interface Definition Language(IDL). IDL allows the user to express a schema similar to you can write code in a programming language, rather than using JSON to specify the schema. Avro offers an equivalent: Avro IDL.
The Avro IDL comes with its own rules and syntax. It appear similar to popular languages like Java, C++, and Python. We’ll present a simple example demonstrating the use of IDL. More details can be found here. Each Avro IDL file defines a single Avro Protocol. When compiled, the output is a JSON format Avro Protocol file with extension .avpr. We can represent a car record in IDL format as follows:
/**
* Car schema expressed in Avro