FlatBuffers 1.1: a memory-efficient serialization library

April 02, 2015


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Posted by Wouter van Oortmerssen, Fun Propulsion Labs at Google*

Originally posted to the Google Open Source blog

After months in development, the FlatBuffers 1.1 update is here. Originally released in June 2014, it’s a highly efficient open source cross-platform serialization library that allows you to read data without parsing/unpacking or allocating additional memory. It supports schema evolution (forwards/backwards compatibility) and optional JSON conversion. We primarily created it for games written in C++ where performance is critical, but it’s also useful more broadly. This update brings:

  • an extensive overhaul to the Java API
  • out-of-the-box support for C# and Go
  • an optional verifier to make FlatBuffers practical in untrusted scenarios
  • .proto parsing for easier migration from Protocol Buffers
  • optional manual assignment of field IDs
  • dictionary functionality through binary search on a key field
  • bug fixes and other improvements thanks to 200+ commits from 28 contributors -- thank you!

Download the latest release from our github page and join our discussion list for more details.

*Fun Propulsion Labs is a team within Google that's dedicated to advancing gaming on Android and other platforms.