An insanely fast binary data interchange format and capability-based RPC system.
Cap'n Proto is a binary data interchange format and capability-based RPC system designed for maximum performance. It enables efficient serialization and communication between services by encoding data in a layout identical to its in-memory representation, avoiding parsing overhead. It solves the problem of high-latency data exchange in distributed systems.
Developers building high-performance distributed systems, microservices, game engines, or any application requiring low-latency data serialization and RPC.
It offers significantly faster performance than alternatives like Protocol Buffers through zero-copy reads and a simpler encoding scheme, while providing a robust capability-based security model for secure object references across networks.
Cap'n Proto serialization/RPC system - core tools and C++ library
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Data is encoded identically to its in-memory representation, eliminating serialization/deserialization overhead and enabling high-speed communication, as highlighted in the key features.
Provides secure object references across network boundaries, enhancing security in distributed systems, as described in the GitHub description.
Benchmarks show significantly faster performance compared to Protocol Buffers, making it ideal for low-latency applications, as claimed in the README.
Offers backward and forward compatibility, allowing updates to message formats without breaking existing code, per the key features.
The V2 branch may introduce breaking changes at any time, forcing users to choose between stability and new features, as warned in the README.
The capability-based RPC system requires understanding distributed object references, adding learning curve and complexity for simple use cases.
Compared to established formats like Protocol Buffers, Cap'n Proto has fewer third-party tools and integrations, which may hinder adoption in some projects.
Cap'n Proto is an open-source alternative to the following products: