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DevOps & Automation · Advanced

Protocol Buffers (Protobuf)

Google's language-neutral binary serialization format defined by .proto schemas.

Definition

Protobuf messages are compact and fast to parse, with numbered fields enabling backward compatibility. Code generators produce classes for many languages. It is the default encoding for gRPC and common for telemetry (GPB, self-describing kvGPB).

Example

message Interface { string name = 1; uint64 in_octets = 2; }

Exam tip

Protobuf is binary and schema-based; JSON is text and self-describing.

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