MessagePack

Definitions

1. A binary serialization format that's like JSON but faster and more compact. Supports the same data types (maps, arrays, strings, numbers, booleans, null) but encodes them in binary, typically producing payloads 50-80% smaller than JSON. No schema required — self-describing like JSON.

   In plain English: A binary version of JSON that's much smaller and faster to parse, used when JSON is too slow or bulky.

   Example: "Switch the WebSocket messages from JSON to MessagePack — same structure, but payloads shrink from 2KB to 400 bytes."

Related Terms

• ABI
• Allocator
• Big-O
• Cache
• Comptime
• Protocol Buffers
• Avro
• Protocol Buffer
• Binary Format
• Byte Order
• Compact