Efficient Protobuf Encoding & Decoding for Embedded Devices
Technologies Used
- C++ – Core language for embedded system implementation.
- nanopb – Lightweight Protobuf encoding/decoding library for C.
- Protocol Buffers (protobuf) – Used for defining structured messages.
- Dart/Flutter – External application generating and parsing protobuf messages.
We developed a high-performance C++ protobuf encoder and decoder using nanopb, enabling efficient data exchange with a Dart/Flutter application.
Introduction
Protobuf, or Protocol Buffers, is a powerful and efficient way to serialize structured data. When working with embedded systems, memory and processing power are often limited, requiring an optimized approach. Our team developed a C++ protobuf encoder and decoder based on nanopb, a lightweight C library specifically designed for embedded environments. This solution seamlessly exchanges protobuf messages with an external application written in Dart/Flutter.
Project Overview
Our protobuf-based communication system was designed to:
- Encode and decode complex protobuf messages with nested structures.
- Support arrays (repeated fields), optional fields, and enums efficiently.
- Run on embedded devices with limited memory and processing power.
- Ensure compatibility with external applications developed in Dart/Flutter.
Implementation
1. Using nanopb for Protobuf in Embedded C++
Since standard Google Protobuf is too large for embedded systems, we leveraged nanopb, which provides a compact C implementation:
- Minimal memory footprint – Ideal for embedded environments.
- Static memory allocation – Avoids dynamic memory overhead.
- Efficient serialization & deserialization of protobuf messages.
2. Handling Complex Protobuf Structures
Our implementation supports:
- Nested messages – Protobuf messages that contain other message objects.
- Repeated fields – Arrays of structured data elements.
- Optional fields – Optimizing bandwidth usage by sending only necessary data.
- Enums – Ensuring readable and compact representation of predefined values.
3. Compatibility with Dart/Flutter Application
Our C++ protobuf solution seamlessly interacts with a Dart/Flutter application:
- The Flutter app generates protobuf messages according to a predefined schema.
- Our C++ embedded system decodes these messages using nanopb.
- The embedded device encodes response messages and sends them back to Flutter.
Results & Benefits
- Optimized for embedded devices – Low memory usage and high performance.
- Seamless cross-language communication between C++ and Dart/Flutter.
- Compact and efficient data exchange using protobuf over low-bandwidth connections.
- Scalable and maintainable for future extensions.
Conclusion
By integrating protobuf with C++ and nanopb, we successfully developed an efficient, lightweight message encoder and decoder for embedded systems. This solution ensures fast and reliable communication with Dart/Flutter applications, making it ideal for resource-constrained environments.
Looking for an optimized protobuf solution for your embedded system? Contact GoodGuySoft today!