Protocol Buffers
Google's data interchange format, with the protoc compiler that turns .proto files into code.
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About Protocol Buffers
Protocol Buffers is Google's language-neutral format for serializing structured data. Developers describe messages in .proto files, and the protoc compiler generates code for reading and writing them in languages including C++, Java, Python, Go, C#, Ruby, PHP, Objective-C and Rust.
The repository holds the compiler and the runtime libraries for each language. It is very widely used and actively developed. Most people install protoc as part of a build toolchain for services that exchange data, such as gRPC APIs.
Strengths
- Generates code for many programming languages from one schema
- Compact binary format with schema evolution
- Very widely used and actively maintained
Limitations
- Command-line compiler with no graphical interface
- Binary messages are not human-readable without tooling
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the BSD 3-Clause licence.
- License
- BSD-3-Clause
- Developer
- Platforms
- Windows, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Developers defining data formats or gRPC services shared across languages
- Categories
- API clients, Developer tools
- Last verified
- Added