ZeroBuf implements zero-copy, zero-serialize, zero-hassle protocol buffers. It is a replacement for FlatBuffers, resolving the following shortcomings:
- Direct get and set functionality on the defined data members
- A single memory buffer storing all data members, which is directly serializable
- Usable, random read and write access to the data members
- Zero copy of the data used by the (C++) implementation from and to the network
- Storage of (u)int[8,16,32,64,128]_t, float, double and enum single elements, static and dynamic sub-structures, fixed size and dynamic arrays of static-sized elements
- Access to arrays using raw pointers, iterators, std::array, std::string and std::vector
- Conversion to and from a JSON representation
- Arrays can have an optional fixed size specified as part of the type,
e.g.,
matrix:[float:16]for a 16 value float array - byte and ubyte data is base64 encoded in JSON, int8_t and uint8_t are represented as value arrays
ZeroBuf is a cross-platform library, designed to run on any modern operating system, including all Unix variants. It requires a C++11 compiler and uses CMake to create a platform-specific build environment. The following platforms and build environments are tested:
- Linux: Ubuntu 16.04, RHEL 6.8 (Makefile, Ninja)
- Mac OS X: 10.9 (Makefile, Ninja)
Building from source is as simple as:
git clone --recursive https://github.com/HBPVIS/ZeroBuf.git
mkdir ZeroBuf/build
cd ZeroBuf/build
cmake -GNinja -DCLONE_SUBPROJECTS=ON ..
ninja
This work has been partially funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Program (FP7/20072013) under grant agreement no. 604102 (HBP).