SetNet.Protobuf 1.1.0

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SetNet.Protobuf

protobuf-net serializer for SetNet.

SetNet ships no serializer in the core — you register one at startup. This package plugs in protobuf-net (Protocol Buffers). It produces compact binary payloads, but the real reason to pick it is cross-language interop: a SetNet server can exchange messages with non-.NET clients (Go, C++, JavaScript, Python, …) that speak protobuf, as long as both sides share the same field-numbered contract. If everything is .NET, MemoryPack or MessagePack are usually faster.

Install

dotnet add package SetNet
dotnet add package SetNet.Protobuf

Usage

Register the serializer once at startup, before you create any client or server. Both ends of a connection must use the same serializer.

using SetNet.Protobuf;
using SetNet.Messaging;

SetNetSerializer.Use(new ProtobufNetSerializer());

Annotate each message type with [ProtoContract] and give every serialized member a stable [ProtoMember(n)] tag:

using ProtoBuf;

[ProtoContract]
public class ChatMessage
{
    [ProtoMember(1)] public string User { get; set; } = "";
    [ProtoMember(2)] public string Text { get; set; } = "";
}

Serialize<T> writes to a MemoryStream via ProtoBuf.Serializer.Serialize; Deserialize<T> reads it back with ProtoBuf.Serializer.Deserialize<T>.

Notes

• Field numbers are the contract. The n in [ProtoMember(n)] — not the property name — identifies a field on the wire. Keep tags stable across versions; you can add new tags for forward/backward compatibility, but don't reuse or renumber existing ones.
• Cross-language: the payload is standard Protocol Buffers, so a matching .proto/schema on the other side lets non-.NET clients interop. (Both ends still must agree on field numbers and types.)
• Size & speed: compact and fast — smaller than JSON; typically a bit slower and larger than MemoryPack for pure-.NET workloads.
• AOT / IL2CPP (Unity): protobuf-net uses runtime metadata/codegen, which can need extra care under IL2CPP/aggressive trimming. For Unity, SetNet.MemoryPack is the more AOT-robust default unless you specifically need protobuf interop.
• Depends on protobuf-net (3.2.30).

Documentation & source

• 🐙 https://github.com/Povstalez/SetNet — full module catalog in docs/MODULES.md

License

MIT