What are some alternatives to Boost.Serialization in C++?

What are some alternatives to Boost.Serialization in C++?

There are several alternatives to Boost.Serialization, including:

1. Cereal: A header-only C++11 library that provides a simple and efficient way to serialize and deserialize data.
2. Protobuf: Google's Protocol Buffers, which is language-agnostic and offers efficient serialization.
3. FlatBuffers: A serialization library that allows you to access serialized data without unpacking it, making it very fast.
4. MessagePack: An efficient binary serialization format that is similar to JSON but more compact.

Can you tell me more about Cereal?

Cereal is a C++11 library designed for serialization. It is lightweight and easy to use, allowing you to serialize data structures to various formats like JSON, XML, or binary. Cereal supports versioning, which helps manage changes in your data structures over time. It also provides a simple API for both serialization and deserialization.

How does Cereal compare to Protobuf?

Cereal is more user-friendly and easier to integrate into existing C++ projects, while Protobuf is more efficient for large-scale applications and cross-language serialization. Protobuf requires a schema definition, which adds complexity, whereas Cereal works directly with C++ types without needing a separate schema.

Are there any performance benchmarks available for these libraries?

Yes, there are several benchmarks available online comparing the performance of serialization libraries, including Cereal, Protobuf, and others. Generally, Protobuf tends to be faster for large data sets due to its binary format, while Cereal is often praised for its ease of use and flexibility.