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Apache Thrift VS TypeORM

Compare Apache Thrift VS TypeORM and see what are their differences

Apache Thrift logo Apache Thrift

An interface definition language and communication protocol for creating cross-language services.

TypeORM logo TypeORM

Node.js ORM written in TypeScript
  • Apache Thrift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-07-12
  • TypeORM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-17

Apache Thrift features and specs

  • Cross-Language Support
    Apache Thrift supports numerous programming languages including Java, Python, C++, Ruby, and more, enabling seamless communication between services written in different languages.
  • Efficient Serialization
    Thrift offers efficient binary serialization which helps in reducing the payload size and improves the communication speed between services.
  • Service Definition Flexibility
    Thrift provides a robust interface definition language (IDL) for defining and generating code for services with strict type checking, fostering strong contract interfaces.
  • Scalability
    Due to its lightweight and efficient serialization mechanisms, Apache Thrift can handle a large number of simultaneous client connections, making it suitable for scalable distributed systems.
  • Versioning Support
    Thrift supports service versioning which helps in evolving APIs without disrupting existing services or clients.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Thrift

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For new users, especially those not familiar with RPC frameworks, learning and understanding Thriftโ€™s IDL and operations can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Documentation and Community Support
    Compared to some alternative technologies, Apache Thrift's documentation and community support can be less robust, which might pose challenges in troubleshooting or seeking guidance.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Thrift does not support some advanced features like streaming or multiplexing out of the box, which could limit its use in complex systems requiring these functionalities.
  • Infrastructure Overhead
    Integrating Thrift into an existing system might introduce infrastructure overhead both in initial setup and ongoing maintenance, especially when dealing with multiple languages.
  • Protocol Limitations
    While Thrift is highly efficient, its protocol limitations might require additional workarounds for certain data structures or transport mechanisms, complicating development.

TypeORM features and specs

  • Rich Feature Set
    TypeORM provides a comprehensive set of features for data manipulation and management such as support for migrations, decorators, lazy/eager loading, and transactions.
  • Multiple Database Support
    TypeORM has built-in support for various databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, MongoDB, and more, making it versatile for different projects.
  • Active Community
    Being widely adopted, TypeORM enjoys a vibrant community which results in extensive documentation, various tutorials, and plenty of third-party plugins and tools.
  • TypeScript Integration
    TypeORM is built with TypeScript and provides excellent integration, allowing developers to use all TypeScript features like typings and decorators for database entities.
  • Object Relational Mapping
    It allows developers to work with databases using more intuitive object-oriented coding paradigms instead of writing explicit SQL queries.

Possible disadvantages of TypeORM

  • Performance Overhead
    Being an ORM, it can introduce additional complexity and performance overhead compared to raw SQL queries, especially for complex operations.
  • Learning Curve
    Due to its extensive feature set, there can be a steep learning curve for developers unfamiliar with ORMs or the specific features of TypeORM.
  • Limited Customization for Complex Queries
    While TypeORM can handle most query scenarios through its abstraction, for particularly complex queries, falling back to native queries might be necessary.
  • Dependency Management
    Occasional compatibility issues may arise with newer versions of databases or when integrating with other libraries, requiring careful dependency management.
  • Non-trivial Migrations
    Although TypeORM supports migrations, they can sometimes be cumbersome to manage, requiring manual handling for advanced schema evolution scenarios.

Analysis of Apache Thrift

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apache Thrift is considered to be a good option for projects needing cross-language communication and efficient serialization. Its efficiency and wide adoption have proven it to be a reliable framework in many production environments.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Thrift is a widely used framework for scalable cross-language services development. It allows for seamless communication between programs written in different languages by providing code generation and serialization capabilities for a variety of languages. Thrift supports an efficient binary protocol and is highly customizable, making it a robust choice for services that require performance and flexibility. Additionally, it's an open-source project under the Apache Software Foundation, which ensures it has a strong community and ongoing updates.

Recommended for

  • Organizations that require cross-language service communication
  • Projects that need high-performance and low-latency data transmission
  • Developers looking for a framework with support for multiple programming languages
  • Teams looking for a customizable serialization protocol

Apache Thrift videos

Apache Thrift

TypeORM videos

Should you use Sequelize, TypeORM, or Prisma 1?

More videos:

  • Review - Typeorm Migrations
  • Review - Many to Many Entities in Typeorm

Category Popularity

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Web And Application Servers
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User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

TypeORM might be a bit more popular than Apache Thrift. We know about 13 links to it since March 2021 and only 13 links to Apache Thrift. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Thrift mentions (13)

  • Show HN: TypeSchema โ€“ A JSON specification to describe data models
    I once read a paper about Apache/Meta Thrift [1,2]. It allows you to define data types/interfaces in a definition file and generate code for many programming languages. It was specifically designed for RPCs and microservices. [1]: https://thrift.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Delving Deeper: Enriching Microservices with Golang with CloudWeGo
    While gRPC and Apache Thrift have served the microservice architecture well, CloudWeGo's advanced features and performance metrics set it apart as a promising open source solution for the future. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Reddit System Design/Architecture
    Services in general communicate via Thrift (and in some cases HTTP). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Universal type language!
    Protocol Buffers is the most popular one, but there are many others such as Apache Thrift and my own Typical. Source: over 3 years ago
  • You worked on it? Why is it slow then?
    RPC is not strictly OO, but you can think of RPC calls like method calls. In general it will reflect your interface design and doesn't have to be top-down, although a good project usually will look that way. A good contrast to REST where you use POST/PUT/GET/DELETE pattern on resources where as a procedure call could be a lot more flexible and potentially lighter weight. Think of it like defining methods in code... Source: over 3 years ago
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TypeORM mentions (13)

  • TypeORM - remove children with orphanedRowAction
    TypeORM is a very convenient ORM for JS apps. We use it with NestJS and running it on NodeJS. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Which local db to use?
    React-native-quick-sqlite if you know what you're doing and Know SQL it gives you more control over the database like executing custom SQL queries, or some advance things, you can use it with an orm like Typeorm. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • How does TypeORM compare to Prisma?
    TypeORM is actively maintained and issues are being fixed. https://github.com/typeorm/typeorm. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • ORMs in JavaScript
    TypeORM is an ORM that can run in NodeJS, Browser, Cordova, PhoneGap, Ionic, React Native, NativeScript, Expo, and Electron platforms and can be used with TypeScript and JavaScript (ES5, ES6, ES7, ES8). -- source. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
  • TypeORM: Object-relational mapping with Node.js
    TypeORM is an open source tool with over 28K GitHub stars and more than 1 million weekly downloads on npm at the time of writing. Launched on Feb 21, 2016, TypeORM has grown to become one of the most popular JavaScript ORMs and one of the most popular ORM libraries built for TypeScript projects. - Source: dev.to / about 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Thrift and TypeORM, you can also consider the following products

Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based registry service

ExpressJS - Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple

Apache ZooKeeper - Apache ZooKeeper is an effort to develop and maintain an open-source server which enables highly reliable distributed coordination.

Flask - a microframework for Python based on Werkzeug, Jinja 2 and good intentions.

Eureka - Eureka is a contact center and enterprise performance through speech analytics that immediately reveals insights from automated analysis of communications including calls, chat, email, texts, social media, surveys and more.

Nest.js - A progressive Node.js framework for building efficient, reliable and scalable server-side applications.