RESTful .NET and protobuf-net

Question

Is it possible to use protobuf-net in RESTful webservices created using WCF RESTful starter kit or OpenRasta? If it possible, are there any examples or code snippets available? I am creating a .NET Web Service which will be consumed by Java client.

Answer 1

I haven't looked at it /specifically/, but it is potentially something that extra tooling could help with.

If you are working with both java and .NET, then it is a bigger question than just protobuf-net; you'd need to be able to consume it as the java end as well. protobuf (the wire format) is cross-platform, with protobuf-net being just one specific implementation.

If your preferred REST API allows efficient byte[] handling (either as a base-64 string in a message, or as the raw response) you could just treat it as binary.

If you can point me at the tooling you want to use, I can take a look, but I can't guarantee anything immediate.

Answer 2

There is no out of box support for protocol buffer in OR, but it's a 5 linuers to plug-in a new codec to read and write the format.