18. RPC vs REST

Episode 18 of 34 | System Design: From Fundamentals to Interview Mastery An original booking workflow compares resource-oriented HTTP APIs with procedure-oriented RPC contracts. It covers serialization, compatibility, deadlines, retries, streaming, observability and security, and explains why business consistency is not determined by choosing REST or RPC. Original script, worked examples, diagrams and animation. Adapted educational presentation; no endorsement implied. Voice generated locally with the speaker's authorization. Chapters 0:00 Welcome and what we will cover 0:11 The API style should fit the caller and the operation 1:31 Express the reservation as a resource-oriented HTTP API 2:59 Express the same operation through RPC 4:25 Compatibility is more than whether the message parses 5:50 Deadlines and idempotency cross both API styles 7:13 Serialization and streaming change costs, not all semantics 8:38 Public and internal interfaces both need security and observability 10:03 Make a conditional choice, not a universal verdict 11:22 Recap, practice and thank you