Objavia

Objavia is a term used in technology to describe a hypothetical object-graph serialization and interoperability standard. It envisions a language-agnostic format for representing complex object graphs, including references, circular structures, and polymorphic types, enabling reliable transmission and storage across heterogeneous systems.

The name blends the word object with the suffix -via, suggesting a pathway or conduit for object data across runtimes. In this speculative concept, objavia comprises a schema language for defining object types, a compact serialization form, and a runtime library that reconstructs graphs while preserving identity and relationships. It emphasizes maintaining object identity, versioned schemas with backward compatibility, and the ability to apply incremental updates.

Key features typically associated with the idea include explicit handling of object identity, support for schema evolution, delta or patch-based updates, and pluggable backends for text or binary encoding. The framework is designed to facilitate cross-language interoperation and streaming processing, with security considerations such as type constraints, validation at boundaries, and access control integrated into the runtime.

Origins and status: Objavia was introduced in theoretical discussions and early demonstrations during the 2020s as a framework for exploring interoperability challenges. It has no formal standard and remains a topic of research and illustration rather than widespread adoption. Implementations or experiments in academic or hobbyist projects describe toy or prototype usages, while production-grade support varies significantly across languages.

Applications: proposed uses include distributed systems data exchange, offline-first mobile apps, real-time collaboration tools, and data synchronization between microservices. See also: JSON, JSON-LD, Protocol Buffers, Apache Avro, graph databases.