Apache Thrift vs Avro

Struggling to choose between Apache Thrift and Avro? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Apache Thrift is a Development solution with tags like rpc, serialization, crosslanguage, microservices.

It boasts features such as Interface definition language, Code generation for RPC clients and servers, Support for many programming languages, Binary protocol, Transport abstraction layer and pros including Language interoperability, High performance, Reduced boilerplate code, Built-in serialization.

On the other hand, Avro is a Development product tagged with serialization, data-exchange, binary-format.

Its standout features include Data serialization system, Provides rich data structures, Fast, compact binary data format, Used for serializing data between applications/systems, and it shines with pros like Efficient data serialization, Language neutral data format, Small data footprint, Fast encoding/decoding, Dynamic typing, Container file format for Hadoop.

Feature	Apache Thrift	Avro
Overall Score	N/A	N/A
Primary Category	Development	Development

Product Overview

Apache Thrift

Description: Apache Thrift is an interface definition language and binary communication protocol used to define and create services for numerous languages. It allows easy cross-language service development, enabling users to build and use robust services that work across programming languages like JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Erlang, Perl, Haskell, C++, C#, Java, Smalltalk, and OCaml.

Avro

Description: Avro is a data serialization system that provides rich data structures and a compact, fast, binary data format. It is used for serializing data for communication between applications or systems.

Key Features Comparison

Apache Thrift Features

• Interface definition language
• Code generation for RPC clients and servers
• Support for many programming languages
• Binary protocol
• Transport abstraction layer

Avro Features

• Data serialization system
• Provides rich data structures
• Fast, compact binary data format
• Used for serializing data between applications/systems

Pros & Cons Analysis

Apache Thrift

Pros

• Language interoperability
• High performance
• Reduced boilerplate code
• Built-in serialization

Cons

• Steep learning curve
• Limited adoption outside of Facebook/Apache projects
• Extra dependency and build configuration

Avro

Pros

• Efficient data serialization
• Language neutral data format
• Small data footprint
• Fast encoding/decoding
• Dynamic typing
• Container file format for Hadoop

Cons

• Limited adoption outside of Hadoop ecosystem
• Less flexible than JSON/XML for some use cases
• Lack of human-readable data format
• Requires code generation for statically typed languages

Pricing Comparison

Apache Thrift

• Open Source

Avro

• Open Source