Which term describes a mechanism to enable a program on a client to execute a function on a remote server?

Which term describes a mechanism to enable a program on a client to execute a function on a remote server?

• A. Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
• B. Secure Shell (SSH)
• C. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
• D. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

Answer: (A)

The main idea is invoking a function on a remote server through an abstraction that makes it appear like a local call. Remote Procedure Call achieves this by having the client call a local stub that packages the function name and arguments, sends them over the network to the server, which then executes the corresponding function and returns the result. The client receives the response and presents it as if the procedure had run locally, hiding the complexities of the network communication. This enables distributed applications to request work from a server without writing explicit network code for each call. There are many flavors and implementations, such as gRPC, XML-RPC, or JSON-RPC, often built on different transport protocols, but the core concept remains remote invocation of a procedure. SSH, while used for secure remote login or command execution, is not the standard mechanism for calling a function on a remote server. HTTP primarily transfers web resources and is not by itself a remote procedure call system, although RPC-like patterns can ride on HTTP. SMTP is for email delivery.

The main idea is invoking a function on a remote server through an abstraction that makes it appear like a local call. Remote Procedure Call achieves this by having the client call a local stub that packages the function name and arguments, sends them over the network to the server, which then executes the corresponding function and returns the result. The client receives the response and presents it as if the procedure had run locally, hiding the complexities of the network communication. This enables distributed applications to request work from a server without writing explicit network code for each call. There are many flavors and implementations, such as gRPC, XML-RPC, or JSON-RPC, often built on different transport protocols, but the core concept remains remote invocation of a procedure.

SSH, while used for secure remote login or command execution, is not the standard mechanism for calling a function on a remote server. HTTP primarily transfers web resources and is not by itself a remote procedure call system, although RPC-like patterns can ride on HTTP. SMTP is for email delivery.