serialization

README

Serialization Benchmark

This benchmark compares the performance of different serialization formats: Protobuf, Symphony, Cap'n Proto, and FlatBuffers.

Schema

All serialization formats use the same message structure:

message BenchmarkMessage {
  int32 id = 1;
  int32 score = 2;
  string username = 3;
  string content = 4;
}

Metrics Tested

The benchmark measures the following performance metrics for each serialization format:

1. Marshal (Serialization) Performance

• Time per operation: Nanoseconds per marshal operation
• Memory allocations: Number of allocations per operation
• Memory usage: Bytes allocated per operation
• CPU profiling: CPU usage patterns during marshaling

2. Unmarshal (Deserialization) Performance

• Time per operation: Nanoseconds per unmarshal operation
• Memory allocations: Number of allocations per operation
• Memory usage: Bytes allocated per operation
• CPU profiling: CPU usage patterns during unmarshaling

3. Serialized Data Size

• Bytes: Size of the serialized message in bytes

Serialization Formats

1. Protobuf - Google's Protocol Buffers
2. Symphony - Custom serialization format (part of aRPC)
3. Cap'n Proto - Infinitely fast serialization
4. FlatBuffers - Google's zero-copy serialization library

Test Data

The benchmark uses the following test data:

• ID: 42
• Score: 300
• Username: "alice"
• Content: "hello world"

Running the Benchmark

Execute the benchmark script:

./benchmark.sh

This script will:

1. Generate code for all serialization formats
2. Build the Go module dependencies
3. Run the benchmark tests
4. Generate performance measurements and CPU profiles

Output

The benchmark generates several output files in the results/ directory:

Timing Results

• marshal_timing_results.log - Marshal performance measurements
• unmarshal_timing_results.log - Unmarshal performance measurements

CPU Profiles

• protobuf_marshal.prof - Protobuf marshal CPU profile
• symphony_marshal.prof - Symphony marshal CPU profile
• capnproto_marshal.prof - Cap'n Proto marshal CPU profile
• flatbuffers_marshal.prof - FlatBuffers marshal CPU profile
• protobuf_unmarshal.prof - Protobuf unmarshal CPU profile
• symphony_unmarshal.prof - Symphony unmarshal CPU profile
• capnproto_unmarshal.prof - Cap'n Proto unmarshal CPU profile
• flatbuffers_unmarshal.prof - FlatBuffers unmarshal CPU profile

Analyzing CPU Profiles

Use Go's pprof tool to analyze the CPU profiles:

go tool pprof results/protobuf_marshal.prof
go tool pprof results/symphony_marshal.prof
go tool pprof results/capnproto_marshal.prof
go tool pprof results/flatbuffers_marshal.prof

Common pprof commands:

• top - Show top functions by CPU usage
• list <function> - Show source code for a function
• web - Open web interface
• png - Generate PNG visualization

Prerequisites

• Go 1.23 or later
• flatc (FlatBuffers compiler)
• capnp (Cap'n Proto compiler)
• protoc (Protocol Buffers compiler)
• protoc-gen-go (Go plugin for protoc)
• protoc-gen-symphony (Symphony plugin for protoc)