vaishnav-mk / protobuf-example

An example express app that uses Google's Protocol Buffers for serializing/deserializing JSON objects

protobuf-example

🗜️ An example app that uses protobufs for serializing/deserializing JSON objects

.proto file

package bookpackage;
syntax = "proto3";

message Book {
    string title = 1;
    optional string subtitle = 2;
    string author = 3;
    optional string published = 4;
    optional string publisher = 5;
    int32 pages = 6;
    string description = 7;
    optional string website = 8;
}

• The .proto file is the file that contains the schema for the JSON object. It is used to generate the code for the language you are using.
• The package is the name of the package that the code will be generated in.
• The syntax is the version of the protobuf syntax that you are using.
• The message is the name of the JSON object.

protobufjs methods

• decode - decodes a buffer into a JSON object
• encode - encodes a JSON object into a buffer
• verify - verifies that a JSON object is valid

What is protobuf?

Protobuf is a serialization format that is language agnostic. It is used to serialize/deserialize JSON objects. It is used in many Google products such as Google Maps, Google Drive, etc.

Why use protobuf?

• It is language agnostic
• It is fast
• It is small
• It is easy to use

How to use protobuf?

• Install the protobuf compiler (depending on the language you are using - I used protobufjs for Node.js)
• Create a .proto file
• Generate the code for the language you are using
• Use the generated code to serialize/deserialze JSON objects

How to use this example?

• Clone this repo
• Run npm install
• Run node .

How to use this example with Docker?

• Soon:tm: (I'm still learning Docker)

Notes

• I used Node v19.3.0 and there were changes to the import syntax recently so you might have to use Node v18

Resources

• Google Protocol Buffers
• protobufjs
• protobufjs docs

What's next?

• Figure out grpc and use it with protobuf
• Use protobuf with Docker