What is this?
Go bindings for Google's protocol buffers: the github.com/golang/protobuf module for serializing protobuf messages in Go, plus a protoc plugin that generates Go code from .proto files.
Go bindings for Google's protocol buffers: the github.com/golang/protobuf module for serializing protobuf messages in Go, plus a protoc plugin that generates Go code from .proto files.Is it a library I import or a tool I run?Both. You import Go packages (proto, jsonpb, ptypes) in your code, and separately run protoc-gen-go, a binary plugin for the protoc compiler, to generate your Go message packages.
Both. You import Go packages (proto, jsonpb, ptypes) in your code, and separately run protoc-gen-go, a binary plugin for the protoc compiler, to generate your Go message packages.How do I turn .proto files into Go code?Run the protoc compiler with the protoc-gen-go plugin; it generates a Go protocol buffer package from your .proto definitions. The README links a developer guide for getting started with protobufs in Go.
Run the protoc compiler with the protoc-gen-go plugin; it generates a Go protocol buffer package from your .proto definitions. The README links a developer guide for getting started with protobufs in Go.The README says this module is superseded — should I still use it?Not for new code: the README recommends google.golang.org/protobuf, which has an updated, simplified API, protobuf reflection and many other improvements. This module lives on for code that already imports it.
Not for new code: the README recommends google.golang.org/protobuf, which has an updated, simplified API, protobuf reflection and many other improvements. This module lives on for code that already imports it.If I build on this module, how stable is its API?The module and generated code are expected to stay stable, but the team reserves the right to break compatibility without notice for security fixes, specification changes, bug fixes and internal changes; other breaking changes are announced 6 months in advance.
The module and generated code are expected to stay stable, but the team reserves the right to break compatibility without notice for security fixes, specification changes, bug fixes and internal changes; other breaking changes are announced 6 months in advance.My codebase imports both this module and the newer one — anything to watch out for?Yes: programs using both modules must use at least version v1.4 of github.com/golang/protobuf, since v1.4 and later are implemented in terms of google.golang.org/protobuf.
Yes: programs using both modules must use at least version v1.4 of github.com/golang/protobuf, since v1.4 and later are implemented in terms of google.golang.org/protobuf.What can it do with my messages besides binary serialization?The proto package also clones, merges and checks equality of messages and writes a text format, while jsonpb serializes protobuf messages as JSON.
The proto package also clones, merges and checks equality of messages and writes a text format, while jsonpb serializes protobuf messages as JSON.Which well-known protobuf types come with helper packages?ptypes ships helpers for timestamp, duration, empty, any, wrappers and struct (structpb) — the standard google/protobuf well-known types.
ptypes ships helpers for timestamp, duration, empty, any, wrappers and struct (structpb) — the standard google/protobuf well-known types.What are similar projects?protobuf.js, protobuf, flatbuffers, go, grpc-rust, grpc-go, fq, grpc-gateway
protobuf.js, protobuf, flatbuffers, go, grpc-rust, grpc-go, fq, grpc-gatewayWhich topics is it in?protocol-buffers, protobuf, serialization, schema, protocol, code-generation, google, json, golang, bsd, deprecated, developers
protocol-buffers, protobuf, serialization, schema, protocol, code-generation, google, json, golang, bsd, deprecated, developers