Apache Thrift

What Does Apache Thrift Mean?

Apache Thrift is an open-source tool from the Apache Software Foundation that helps provide cross-language support and solutions for "polyglot" code systems.

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The designers of Apache Thrift refer to it as a "scalable cross-language service development" tool. Others might call it a "serialization platform" or a "cross-language support resource." Apache Thrift consists of a software stack and a code-generation engine that help to provide different kinds of support for cross-language engineering.

Techopedia Explains Apache Thrift

Part of the functionality of Apache Thrift is that developers can change transports or protocols without recompiling a project. Experts might describe this as a plan for normalizing modules for cross-language use or in terms of an overall framework for network services. Apache Thrift can also work with remote procedure call (RPC) servers to support networking projects.

In general, Apache Thrift helps companies deal with situations where polyglot systems have made overall administration difficult. Even companies that have committed to using one software language for development usually have bits of other programming languages included in various aspects of their IT architecture. Apache Thrift can help bridge the gap when engineers have to go in and make these different modules talk to one another.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…