vtprotobuf

Introduction to vtprotobuf: The Vitess Protocol Buffers Compiler

vtprotobuf is a plug-in for the Protocol Buffers compiler (protoc), tailored specifically to enhance the performance of serialization and deserialization processes in the context of Vitess. Rooted in the capabilities of gogo/protobuf, this project is not merely its fork but stands independently to align with the newer ProtoBuf APIv2 packages.

Key Features of vtprotobuf

vtprotobuf works as a complement to the main protoc-gen-go generator rather than replacing it. It promotes faster (de)serialization of Protocol Buffer messages by producing auxiliary code. Here are some of its pivotal features:

• Size Calculation: Generates a SizeVT function that calculates message sizes without reflection, optimizing marshalling processes.

• Equality Checks: Provides helper methods such as EqualVT, which bypass standard reflection methods to ascertain equality, thereby enhancing performance.

• Marshalling: This feature includes functions like MarshalVT that expedite message serialization by avoiding memory allocation and reducing the overhead usually involved with reflection.

• Strict Marshalling: Similar to MarshalVT, but ensures fields are serialized following their declaration order in the .proto file.

• Unmarshalling: Creates an UnmarshalVT function that minimizes memory use and avoids reflection during deserialization.

• Unsafe Unmarshalling: Offers UnmarshalVTUnsafe, which further reduces memory allocation by casting slices directly.

• Memory Pooling: Includes methods to handle ProtoBuf objects via memory pools, reducing the cost of repeated allocations.

• Cloning: Produces CloneVT, for efficient duplication of messages without the overhead of reflection.

Field and Usage Options

• Unique Strings: Strings can be interned for memory efficiency, provided using the unique option. This requires Go 1.23+.

Usage:

1. Install the vtprotobuf plug-in using the Go toolchain.
2. Ensure compatibility with the ProtoBuf v2 API.
3. Update your protoc settings to integrate vtprotobuf.
4. (Optional) Use specific features by configuring the generator options.
5. (Optional) Implement memory pooling for specified ProtoBuf objects.
6. (Optional) Enable ignoring unknown fields if necessary.
7. (Optional) Utilize build tags to isolate generated code if needed.
8. Generate the corresponding Golang files from your .proto configurations.
9. (Optional) Engage optimized code with your RPC frameworks, such as GRPC or Twirp.

Integrating with RPC Frameworks

• GRPC: Requires registering a custom codec to replace the default code and leverage vtprotobuf optimizations.

• Twirp: Although not natively supported, you can customize Twirp-generated files for compatibility.

• Connect and DRPC: Custom codec implementation is necessary to efficiently handle serialization with these frameworks.

vtprotobuf with buf

If your project uses buf for managing Protocol Buffers, the integration is straightforward. Adding vtprotobuf to your buf setup will automate the generation of optimized helpers.

In summary, vtprotobuf is a potent tool designed to make ProtoBuf operations in Vitess more efficient through a suite of specialized features and configurations aimed at streamlined marshaling, unmarshalling, and message handling.