serializer.h File Reference

Compile-time type-detection and serialisation utilities for VLink messages. More...

#include <string>
#include "./base/bytes.h"
#include "./impl/types.h"
#include "./internal/serializer-inl.h"

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Namespaces
namespace	vlink
namespace	Serializer
	Compile-time type detection and codec dispatch for VLink messages.
namespace	vlink::Serializer

Enumerations
enum	vlink::Serializer::Type : uint8_t {   vlink::Serializer::kUnknownType = 0 , vlink::Serializer::kBytesType = 1 , vlink::Serializer::kDynamicType = 2 , vlink::Serializer::kCustomType = 3 ,   vlink::Serializer::kCdrType = 4 , vlink::Serializer::kProtoType = 5 , vlink::Serializer::kProtoPtrType = 6 , vlink::Serializer::kFlatTableType = 7 ,   vlink::Serializer::kFlatPtrType = 8 , vlink::Serializer::kFlatBuilderType = 9 , vlink::Serializer::kStringType = 10 , vlink::Serializer::kCharsType = 11 ,   vlink::Serializer::kStreamType = 12 , vlink::Serializer::kStandardType = 13 , vlink::Serializer::kStandardPtrType = 14 }
	Identifies the serialisation codec to use for a given C++ type. More...

Functions
constexpr bool	vlink::Serializer::is_supported (Type type) noexcept
	Returns true when type identifies a supported serializer.

Detailed Description

Compile-time type-detection and serialisation utilities for VLink messages.

The Serializer namespace provides a unified serialisation and deserialisation interface that automatically selects the correct codec based on the C++ type of the message via constexpr if chains.

Supported Serializer Types

Type constant	C++ Type Criteria	Notes
kBytesType	T == Bytes	Pass-through, no-copy.
kDynamicType	Has is_vlink_dynamic_data() member	Dynamic type via operator>>/<<
kCdrType	Has serialize(Cdr&) and deserialize(Cdr&)	FastDDS CDR codec.
kProtoType	Has SerializeToArray() and ParseFromArray()	Protobuf by value.
kProtoPtrType	Pointer with SerializeToArray / ParseFromArray	Arena-managed proto pointer.
kFlatTableType	Inherits flatbuffers::NativeTable	FlatBuffers native table.
kFlatPtrType	Pointer to flatbuffers::Table subclass	Zero-copy FlatBuffers read.
kFlatBuilderType	Has fbb_ member and Finish()	FlatBuffers builder.
kCustomType	Has operator>>(Bytes&) and operator<<(const Bytes&)	User-defined codec.
kStringType	T == std::string	UTF-8 string.
kCharsType	Constructible as std::string but not std::string	C string literal / char*.
kStreamType	Has operator<< and operator>> with stringstream	Stream-based text encoding.
kStandardType	Trivial standard-layout value (POD)	Byte-copied directly.
kStandardPtrType	Pointer to trivial standard-layout type	Zero-copy POD pointer.

Type Detection

// At compile time, get the Type enumerator for any message type:
constexpr auto t = Serializer::get_type_of<MyMsg>();  // e.g. kProtoType
static_assert(Serializer::is_supported(t), "");

Serialize and Deserialize

MyProto msg;
Bytes bytes;
Serializer::serialize(msg, bytes);       // MyProto -> Bytes
 
MyProto out;
Serializer::deserialize(bytes, out);     // Bytes -> MyProto

Custom Type

Implement operator>> and operator<< on your type:

struct MyCustomMsg {
    int x;
    void operator>>(vlink::Bytes& out) const { ... }   // serialize
    void operator<<(const vlink::Bytes& in)  { ... }   // deserialize
};
// Now Serializer::get_type_of<MyCustomMsg>() == kCustomType

Transport-aware Serialization

Some transports (e.g. dds://) use a special fast-path for CDR types (pointer passing instead of byte-copy). Pass the TransportType to the explicit overloads to activate the transport-specific path:

Serializer::serialize<kCdrType>(msg, bytes, TransportType::kDds);

Note

All functions in this namespace are static and inline. The namespace name starts with a capital letter by convention (matches VLink style). Direct use by application code is rarely needed; the framework calls these functions automatically inside publish(), listen(), invoke(), etc.