[−][src]Crate no_proto

High Performance Serialization Library

TODO:

[x] Finish implementing Lists, Tuples & Maps
[x] Collection Iterator
[ ] Compaction
[ ] Documentation
[ ] Tests

Features

Zero dependencies
#![no_std] support, WASM ready
Supports bytewise sorting of buffers
Automatic & instant deserilization
Nearly instant serialization
Schemas are dynamic/flexible at runtime
Mutate/Update/Delete values in existing buffers
Supports native data types
Supports collection types (list, map, table & tuple)
Supports deep nesting of collection types

NoProto allows you to store, read & mutate structured data with near zero overhead. It's like JSON but faster, type safe and allows native types. It's like Cap'N Proto/Flatbuffers except buffers and schemas are dynamic at runtime instead of requiring compilation.

Bytewise sorting comes in the box and is a first class operation. The result is two NoProto buffers can be compared at the byte level without serializing and a correct ordering between the buffer's internal values will be the result. This is extremely useful for storing ordered keys in databases.

NoProto moves the cost of serialization to the access methods instead of serializing the entire object ahead of time. This makes it a perfect use case for things like database storage or file storage of structured data.

Compared to FlatBuffers / Cap'N Proto

Schemas are dynamic at runtime, no compilation step
Supports more types and better nested type support
Bytewise sorting is explicitly supported
Mutate (add/delete/update) existing/imported buffers

Compared to JSON

Has schemas / type safe
Supports bytewise sorting
Faster serialization & deserialization
Supports raw bytes & other native types

Compared to BSON

Faster serialization & deserialization
Has schemas / type safe
Bytewise sorting is explicitly supported
Supports much larger documents (4GB vs 16MB)
Better collection support & more supported types

Compared to Serde

Supports bytewise sorting
Objects & schemas are dynamic at runtime
Faster serialization & deserialization

Format	Free De/Serialization	Size Limit	Mutatable	Schemas	Language Agnostic	Runtime Dynamic	Bytewise Sorting
JSON	𐄂	Unlimited	✓	𐄂	✓	✓	𐄂
BSON	𐄂	~16KB	✓	𐄂	✓	✓	✓*
MessagePack	𐄂	Unlimited	✓	𐄂	✓	✓	✓*
FlatBuffers	✓	~2GB	𐄂	✓	✓	𐄂	✓*
Protocol Buffers	𐄂	~2GB	𐄂	✓	✓	𐄂	✓*
Cap'N Proto	✓	2^64 Bytes	𐄂	✓	✓	𐄂	✓*
Serde	𐄂	?	✓	✓	𐄂	𐄂	𐄂
NoProto	✓	~4GB	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

* Bytewise sorting can technically be achieved with these libraries. However, it's not a first class operation and requires extra effort, configuration and care.

Limitations

Buffers cannot be larger than 2^32 bytes (~4GB).
Tables & List collections cannot have more than 2^16 items (~16k).
Enum/Option types are limited to 2^8 or 255 choices.
Tuple types are limited to 2^8 or 255 items.
Buffers are not validated or checked before deserializing.

Quick Example

use no_proto::error::NP_Error;
use no_proto::NP_Factory;
use no_proto::NP;
use no_proto::collection::table::NP_Table;
use no_proto::pointer::NP_Ptr;
 
// JSON is used to describe schema for the factory
// Each factory represents a single schema
// One factory can be used to serialize/deserialize any number of buffers
let user_factory = NP_Factory::new(r#"{
    "type": "table",
    "columns": [
        ["name",   {"type": "string"}],
        ["pass",   {"type": "string"}],
        ["age",    {"type": "uint16"}]
    ]
}"#)?;
 
// creating a new buffer from the `user_factory` schema
// user_buffer contains a deserialized Vec<u8> containing our data
 
let user_buffer: Vec<u8> = user_factory.open(NP::new, |mut buffer| {
    
    // open the buffer to read or update values
    let root: NP_Ptr<NP_Table> = buffer.root()?;  // <- type cast the root
         
   // the root of our schema is a collection type (NP_Table), 
   // so we have to collapse the root pointer into the collection type.
   let mut table: NP_Table = root.into()?.unwrap();
 
   // Select a column and type cast it. Selected columns can be mutated or read from.
   let mut user_name = table.select::<String>("name")?;
 
   // set value of name column
   user_name.set("some name".to_owned())?;
 
   // select age column and set it's value
   let mut age = table.select::<u16>("age")?;
   age.set(75)?;

   // done mutating/reading the buffer
   Ok(())
})?;
  
// open the new buffer, `user_buffer`, we just created
// user_buffer_2 contains the deserialized Vec<u8>
let user_buffer_2: Vec<u8> = user_factory.open(NP::bytes(user_buffer), |mut buffer| {
 
   let root: NP_Ptr<NP_Table> = buffer.root()?;
         
   // get the table root again
   let mut table = root.into()?.unwrap();
 
   // read the name column
   let mut user_name = table.select::<String>("name")?;
   assert_eq!(user_name.get()?, Some(String::from("some name")));
 
   // password value will be None since we haven't set it.
   let mut password = table.select::<String>("pass")?;
   assert_eq!(password.get()?, None);
 
   // read age value    
   let mut age = table.select::<u16>("age")?;
   assert_eq!(age.get()?, Some(75));    
 
   // done with the buffer
   Ok(())
})?;
 
// we can now save user_buffer_2 to disk, 
// send it over the network, or whatever else is needed with the data

Guided Learning / Next Steps:

Schemas - Learn how to build & work with schemas.
Factories - Parsing schemas into something you can work with.
Buffers - How to create, update & compact buffers.

MIT License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

Modules

buffer	Allows buffers to be created and mutated
collection	Collections: NP_Table, NP_Tuple, NP_List, & NP_Map
error	Primary error type used by the library
json_flex	JSON Parser, serializer and deserializer
pointer	All values in NP_Buffers are accessed and modified through NP_Ptrs
schema	Schemas are JSON used to declare & store the shape of buffer objects.

Structs

NP_Factory

Factories allow you to serialize and deserialize buffers.

Enums

NP