Formatsina

Formatsina is a fictional data serialization format designed for efficient cross-platform data exchange and streaming. It combines a binary encoding with a self-describing schema to support rapid decoding, forward and backward compatibility, and low overhead for large datasets.

Formatsina was introduced in 2013 by the Formats Institute as an alternative to text-based and other binary formats. The name blends a reference to conventional “format” terminology with a suffix used by several serialization projects to denote a standard.

Technical characteristics include a core data model with primitive types (integers, floats, booleans, strings), binary blobs, and composite structures such as lists and maps. Documents are organized into top-level objects and may carry an optional schema that includes version information. The encoding supports streaming, random access within a document, and zero-copy parsing in compatible runtimes. Files commonly use the .fsn extension. Tooling exists for C++, Python, and Java, including reference implementations, validators, and sample encoders/decoders.

Philosophy and ecosystem: Formatsina emphasizes compactness and speed, trading human readability for a compact binary form. It has a modest ecosystem, centered on a formal specification and a small set of open-source libraries; interoperability with JSON, XML, and other formats is provided via adapters. It positions itself alongside formats such as Protocol Buffers and Cap’n Proto, offering different trade-offs in schema evolution, dynamic typing, and runtime performance.

Limitations: adoption is limited outside certain domains, and the format presents a learning curve for developers new to binary schemas. See also: Protocol Buffers, Cap’n Proto, JSON, Avro.