The document discusses how different protocols like REST, Kafka, GraphQL, gRPC, and mySQL can be made protocol-agnostic. It defines common attributes across protocols like scope, operation, sending and receiving data formats, asynchronous/streaming behavior, and connection and authentication settings. Making protocols protocol-agnostic provides benefits like a universal specification for documentation, collaboration between teams using different architectures, and a consistent user experience.

1. Becoming Protocol-Agnostic with
Kafka, REST, GraphQL & gRPC
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Tyler Mills, Director of Product @ SmartBear

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Protocol-Agnostic Definition
• Server URL
• Scope
• Operation
• Models
• Sending / Receiving
• Data Format -- e.g. JSON, XML, Binary, GraphQL Query
• Asynchronous?
• Stream?
• Metadata
• Connection Settings
• Auth Settings

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REST • Scope (Path / Resource) – /pets
• Operation – POST, GET, PATCH, PUT, DELETE
• Sending (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Synchronous
• Non-Streaming
• Metadata – e.g. HTTP Headers, Parameters (Query / Path / Matrix)
• Receiving (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Synchronous
• Non-Streaming
• Metadata – e.g. HTTP Headers, HTTP Status Code
• Connection Settings – URL Encoding, Client SSL Configuration, Header Forwarding
• Auth Settings – OAuth2, Basic, Bearer, etc.

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Kafka • Scope (Topic) – /events/billing
• Operation – Produce, Consume
• Sending (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Asynchronous
• Streaming
• Metadata – e.g. Kafka Headers, Kafka Partition, Kafka Key
• Receiving (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Asynchronous
• Streaming
• Metadata – e.g. Kafka Headers, Kafka Partition, Kafka Key
• Connection Settings – Serialization, Connection Close Settings, Custom (e.g. auto-commit)
• Auth Settings – Kerberos, OAuth, etc.

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GraphQL • Scope (Object) – e.g. allUsers, Multiple Objects
• Operation – Query, Mutation, Subscription
• Sending (GraphQL Query)
• Synchronous
• Streaming (for Subscription operation only)
• Metadata – e.g. GraphQL Variables, HTTP Headers
• Receiving (JSON)
• Synchronous
• Streaming (for Subscription operation only)
• Metadata – e.g. HTTP Status Code, HTTP Headers
• Connection Settings – SSL Configuration
• Auth Settings – OAuth2, Basic, Bearer, etc.

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gRPC • Scope (RPC) – e.g. HelloRequest
• Operation – Unary, Client Stream, Server Stream, Bi-Directional Stream
• Sending (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Synchronous
• Streaming (for Subscription operation only)
• Metadata – e.g. GraphQL Variables, HTTP Headers
• Receiving (JSON, XML, Binary, etc.)
• Synchronous
• Streaming (for Subscription operation only)
• Metadata – e.g. HTTP Status Code, HTTP Headers
• Connection Settings – SSL Configuration
• Auth Settings – OAuth2, Basic, Bearer, etc.

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mySQL • Scope (Database Name)
• Operation – SELECT, INSERT, DROP, etc.
• Sending (SQL Query)
• Synchronous
• Receiving (Table, JSON, CSV)
• Synchronous
• Connection Settings – Performance Options, SSL Configuration
• Auth Settings – User Name & Password

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Benefits
• Universal Specification
• No need to hop between Avro, JSON Schema, OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, GraphQL Schema, Thrift, etc.
• Single source of documentation for all APIs, Databases and Services
• Collaboration
• Everyone in your organization can use the same tools, regardless of architecture
• Insight into how other teams are building their services and how to integrate with them without sifting
through source code
• User Experience
• Consistent experience between protocols reduces learning curves
• Less context switching between tools

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@SmartBear
Tyler Mills
@TylerM