Using Google's Protocol Buffers With Java - DZone Java

Using Google's Protocol Buffers With Java - DZone Java

In Item 85 of Effective Java, Third Edition, Josh Bloch emphasizes in bold text the following two assertions related to Java serialization:

1. "The best way to avoid serialization exploits is to never deserialize anything."
2. "There is no reason to use Java serialization in any new system you write."

After outlining the dangers of Java deserialization and making these bold statements, Bloch recommends that Java developers employ what he calls (to avoid confusion associated with the term "serialization" when discussing Java) "cross-platform structured-data representations." Bloch states that the leading offerings in this category are JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and Protocol Buffers (protobuf). I found this mention of Protocol Buffers to be interesting because I've been reading about and playing with Protocol Buffers a bit lately. The use of JSON (even with Java) is exhaustively covered online. I feel like awareness of Protocol Buffers may be less among Java developers than awareness of JSON and so feel like a post on using Protocol Buffers with Java is warranted.

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