FlatBuffers: Memory-Efficient Serialization
Article Summary
Wouter van Oortmerssen from Google's Fun Propulsion Labs just open-sourced FlatBuffers, a serialization library that reads data without unpacking or allocating extra memory. Game developers struggling with performance overhead, this one's for you.
Google released FlatBuffers as an open-source C++ serialization library specifically designed for game developers. The library stores data in cross-platform buffers that can be accessed in-place without parsing, offering a more efficient alternative to Protocol Buffers or JSON for game data storage.
Key Takeaways
- Reads serialized data without unpacking or allocating additional memory
- Cross-platform C++ with no library dependencies outside STL
- Schema compiler generates code for C++ and Java
- Supports full forwards and backwards compatibility through schemas
- Can parse JSON into type-safe binaries
Critical Insight
FlatBuffers eliminates parsing overhead by letting you access serialized data directly in-place, making it faster and more memory-efficient than Protocol Buffers or JSON for game development.
