Sketching the format stack Lassi Kortela 19 Sep 2019 18:07 UTC
Here's a very rough and very tentative sketch of such a stack of three formats, everything subject to change: Simple data types: Mostly portable S-expressions or JSON Simple text syntax: Mostlt portable S-expressions or JSON Simple binary encoding: Mostly just varints and type tags? Intermediate data types: List/vector/set/ordered-set/map/bytevector/bitvector + complex numbers Intermediate text syntax: Classic S-expressions with a few extensions Intermediate binary encoding: Simple one + skippable sub-encodings + DNS names? Complex data types: Everything in John's spreadsheet, and more Complex text syntax: S-expressions + every trick in the book Complex binary encoding: ASN.1? Couldn't resist drafting one already :)