Comparing Avro vs Protobuf for data serialization

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Data serialization is a crucial aspect of modern distributed systems because it enables the efficient communication and storage of structured data. In this article, we will discuss two popular serialization formats: Avro and Protocol Buffers, Protobuf for short, and compare their strengths and weaknesses to help you make an informed decision about which one to use in your projects. By Daniel Selans.

Avro is a serialization framework developed by the Apache Software Foundation. It is designed to be language-independent and schema-based, which means that data is serialized and deserialized using a schema that describes the structure of the data. Avro schemas are defined in JSON.

Author then deals with following topics:

  • What is data serialization, and why do you need it?
  • What is Avro?
  • What is Protobuf?
  • Avro vs. Protobuf: Strengths and weaknesses

Regardless of the encodings used with streaming or event-driven data, being able to observe, monitor, and act on data is paramount for compliance, reliability, and shipping complex features faster. While Streamdal has first-class support for Protobuf, we work with any encoding to enable total observability and operability on any data stream or event-driven system. Good read!

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Tags json queues messaging app-development streaming apache