YaFF
YaFF (Yet another Flat Format) is a high-performance C++ serialization library that provides a zero-copy wire format for the Protobuf ecosystem. While the .proto schema remains your single source of truth, YaFF changes the physical representation of data to eliminate runtime overhead. This provides performance-critical applications with direct, zero-parsing access through a proto-like interface, while allowing less performance-sensitive components to parse the wire format back into Protobuf messages.
YaFF shares the zero-copy foundations of FlatBuffers, but concentrates on server-side runtimes and adaptive layout strategies that bring read performance close to native C++ structs, preserving interoperability with Protobuf.
When to Use YaFF
YaFF is a good fit when:
- You're comfortable with Protobuf and want faster reads. You stay in the ecosystem you already know instead of adopting a separate one: a
.protois your single source of truth, whether you have an existing schema or start a new project, and you can move to YaFF gradually, converting at the edges. - You need the lowest read overhead. In the hottest paths YaFF's adaptive layouts bring field access close to a native C++ struct.
- You want the usual zero-copy benefits. No parse or copy on read, cheap serialization straight into the buffer, and data you can read directly from a memory-mapped file.
- You control both ends of the pipeline. Producers and consumers live inside the same trusted system.
Where to Start
- Quick start — turn your first proto message into a zero-copy representation.
- Schema Overview — basic and advanced
.protoschema features. - API Reference — the generated accessors, serialization, and reflection.