epb's Introduction

epb

Erlang protocol buffers library. This is born out of rage against erlang_protobuffs, which uses a (working but brain-dead) compilation strategy that is brittle and hard to evolve. The project also has lots of technical debt from lack of vision and inconsistency of multiple authors adding new features.

This is a work-in-progress, use at your own peril.

Goals

Use classic compiler techniques to turn Protocol Buffers definitions into Erlang source. We'll likely make use of the syntax_tools application to accomplish this. This will also simplify usage of other tools like Dialyzer because the library user will be able to compile the source directly, instead of the library manipulating abstract code directly. Also, no more Pokemon!
Be a drop-in replacement for erlang_protobuffs in most circumstances. Some function names may change or move around, but it should be just as easy to use.
Aggressively optimize the encoding and decoding of messages, avoiding unnecessary copying, list-traversals, etc that have plagued the erlang_protobuffs codebase in the past. Reduce the overall footprint of in-memory message representations, perhaps taking advantage of zero-copy binaries where possible.
Comply with all aspects of the Protocol Buffers specification at its current version.
Avoid making me puke everytime I have to read or modify the codebase.

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