Re: [Rails-devel] Another library to add?

[brett l. <bre...@gm...>]

On Wed, Jun 6, 2012 at 12:55 PM, Stefan Frey <ste...@we...> wrote:
> Brett & Erik,
> going forward I am considering refactoring the xml initialization of
> Rails. Further I did a short comparison of the feature and syntax of a
> few xml serialization libraries for java and very quickly found one that
> pleases me.
>
> The idea of the newer libraries add is that it is possible to align the
> java classes and xml elements, so that in effect you do not have to
> write anymore manually for parsing. Most of them use annotations to
> control this mechanism.
>

+1 from me. Annotation/Decorators are a fantastic way to handle this.
Also, the removal of manual parsing code is a huge win, IMO.

> So my proposal is to use Simple Serialization Library
> (see http://simple.sourceforge.net/home.php)
>
> Checkout
> http://simple.sourceforge.net/download/stream/doc/tutorial/tutorial.php
> for documentation and code examples).
>
> (Reasonable Alternatives were XStream and Jackson with XML extension and
> Protostuff, I do not like JAXB)
>
> I am still considering to choose a more compact format (like Json or
> even a binary one like Kryo or Smile) for the planned network play.

Given the choice, I'd opt for JSON or YAML over binary formats.
They're well-known, well-supported, and (most importantly) easier to
debug.

Over the wire, we can use compression to slim down the bandwidth
requirements of transmitting plain-text data.

>
> Stefan
>

---Brett.