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Protocol Buffers
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<p>Protocol Buffers (Protobuf) is a <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source_software/1cHtjLCB">free and open-source</a> <a href="/facts/Cross-platform_software/16zqdvNR">cross-platform</a> data format used to <a href="/facts/Serialization/T00auFvv">serialize</a> structured data. It is useful in developing programs that communicate with each other over a network or for storing data. The method involves an <a href="/facts/Interface_description_language/FpByLf4X">interface description language</a> that describes the structure of some data and a program that generates source code from that description for generating or parsing a stream of bytes that represents the structured data. </p>