If you have an interest in distributed computing &quot;The End of Protocols&quot; is a great read:<p><a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cc.gatech.edu&#x2F;~keith&#x2F;classes&#x2F;ubicomplexity&#x2F;pdfs&#x2F;infra&#x2F;waldo-end-of-proto.pdf" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cc.gatech.edu&#x2F;~keith&#x2F;classes&#x2F;ubicomplexity&#x2F;pdfs&#x2F;i...</a><p>The whole RPC vs. REST thing is not a useful distinction.