How to install protobuf in golang

Golang is a very popular programming language recently. Its syntax is simple and easy to understand, and it is very suitable for large-scale concurrent programming. In Golang, we can achieve efficient data exchange by installing protobuf.

What is protobuf?

First of all, we need to understand what protobuf is. Protobuf is a data exchange format developed by Google. It is a lightweight and efficient data serialization method. It uses a simple syntax to define data structures and can easily serialize and deserialize data structures by using automatically generated code. Because Protobuf uses binary encoding, its data transmission speed is much faster than formats such as XML and JSON.

How to install protobuf?

Before installing Golang, we need to install protobuf first. Therefore, we first need to install protobuf's compiler protoc. protobuf can be downloaded from the following address:

https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases

Here, we choose to install the latest version of protobuf. After the download is complete, we need to unzip the file locally.

Next, we need to set the environment variables so that our computer can find protoc.exe normally. We can add the Protobuf file path in the "Path" of the system environment variable, or set the environment variable in other ways. Here is one of the methods to set environment variables:

1. Open the terminal

2. Enter the following command to add environment variables:

export PB_FOLDER=<path_to_protobuf_folder>
export PATH="$PATH:$PB_FOLDER/bin"</path_to_protobuf_folder>

where<path_to_protobuf_folder> is the path to the protobuf folder. </path_to_protobuf_folder>

After the installation is completed, we can enter the following command in the terminal to test whether Protobuf is installed correctly:

protoc --version

If the version information of Protobuf is output, it means that Protobuf has been installed correctly.

How to use protobuf in Golang?

After installing protobuf, we can use the github.com/golang/protobuf library in Golang, which contains the Golang structures and methods generated by protobuf. First, we need to install github.com/golang/protobuf by entering the following command in the terminal:

go get -u github.com/golang/protobuf/protoc-gen-go

Next, we can use protobuf by following the following steps through the terminal:

1. Define .proto file. The .proto file contains the structure that defines the data message using Protobuf. We can use the text editor to write the .proto file. The sample code is as follows:

syntax = "proto3";
message Person {
    string name = 1;
    int32 age = 2;
    double weight = 3;
    repeated string hobbies = 4;
}

2. Use the protoc command to generate Golang code. These codes can serialize and deserialize Protobuf data structures. The example command is as follows:

protoc --go_out=. *.proto

Among them, the --go_out=. parameter refers to storing the generated code in the current directory. *.proto means that all .proto files will be compiled. In this step, be careful to specify the correct .proto file path.

3. Use the generated code. In the generated code, each .proto file generates a file ending in .pb.go. In code, we can use the generated code to read and write data messages. The sample code is as follows:

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "log"

    pb "github.com/USERNAME/REPO/DIR"
    "github.com/golang/protobuf/proto"
)

func main() {
    p := &pb.Person{
        Name:    "Alice",
        Age:     22,
        Weight:  55.5,
        Hobbies: []string{"singing", "dancing"},
    }

    data, err := proto.Marshal(p)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal("marshaling error: ", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("Serialized: %v\n", data)

    var person pb.Person
    err = proto.Unmarshal(data, &person)
    if err != nil {
        log.Fatal("unmarshaling error: ", err)
    }

    fmt.Printf("Person: %#v\n", person)
}

Summary

It is not complicated to install protobuf and use protobuf in Golang. You only need to master the above steps. I believe it will definitely be of great help to your programming career.

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