Stands for “Remote Procedure Call.” Most computer programs run procedures, or sets of instructions, using the computer`s CPU. In other words, the instructions are processed locally on the same computer that the software is running from. Remote procedure calls, however, run procedures on other machines or devices connected to a network. Once the instructions have been run, the results of the procedure are usually returned to the local computer.
For example, a computer without a hard drive may use an RPC to access data from a network file system (NFS). When printing to a network printer, a computer might use an RPC to tell the printer what documents to print. A client system connected to a database server may execute an RPC to process data on the server.
Remote procedure calls are based on the client-server model, where multiple client computers may connect to a server and retrieve data from it. RPCs are typically written in a standard format, such as XML, so that the procedures can be understood by multiple computer platforms. For example, an XML-RPC sent by a Windows computer could be recognized by a Macintosh or Unix-based system.