Protocol Buffers

Definitions

1. A language-neutral, platform-neutral binary serialization format developed by Google. Protobuf schemas (.proto files) define message structures and generate efficient serialization code for multiple languages. Widely used with gRPC.

   In plain English: A way to pack data into a tiny, fast binary format instead of human-readable text like JSON.

   Example: "We switched from JSON to Protobuf and cut our API payload sizes by 60% — the binary encoding is way more compact."

Related Terms

• Allocator
• Big-O
• Cache
• Contract
• Rate Limiter
• Avro
• MessagePack
• Intersection Observer
• Pagination
• GraphQL Subscription
• Protocol Buffer
• Byte Order
• Compact