disjukr / jcbin

The binary serialization format which is fast, stable and easy to implement.

Jcbin

JongChan's binary serialization format. Pronounce as jay-see-bin. It targets speed, backward compatibility, ease to implement.

Wire format

Jcbin's serialization unit is message. The serialized message is array of message fields. Each field consists of 4 bytes header and variable length payload. Every multi-byte data is interpreted with little endian when you are reading it as integer.

Field structure

aa aa bb cc (dd dd dd dd) ee ee ee (ff)

• a: field number
• b: field version
• c: field length
• d: extended field length (if c is zero)
• e: payload
• f: padding to align 4 bytes

How to calculate payload length

If c(field length) is zero, the field length is d(extended field length).
Else, the field length is c * 4.