Tagged Binary Format (TBF)

A high-performance C++ binary serialization library with tagged fields, designed for speed and efficiency.

Features

• 🏷️ Tagged Fields - Flexible schema with named or ID-based tags
• 📦 Compact Format - Efficient binary encoding
• 🔧 Type Safe - Field type validation
• 🎯 Zero-Copy - Direct memory access where possible
• 🔄 Endian Aware - Automatic endianness handling

Supported Types

• Primitives: int8, int16, int32, int64, uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64, float, double, bool
• Strings: Variable-length UTF-8 strings
• Binary: Raw binary data
• Objects: Nested object structures
• Arrays: Arrays of any supported type
• Vectors: Fixed-size 2D, 3D, and 4D vectors

Format Specification

For detailed information about the binary format, field types, and encoding specifications, see FORMAT.md.

Building

Standalone Build

# Basic build (library only)
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make

# Build with tests
cmake -DTBF_BUILD_TESTS=ON ..
make

# Run tests
ctest
# or
./tests/tbf_tests

Using as a Subdirectory in Your Project

Add TBF to your CMake project by including it as a subdirectory:

Project Structure:

your-project/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── src/
│   └── main.cpp
└── external/
    └── tbf/          # Clone or add TBF here

Your CMakeLists.txt:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(YourProject)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 23)

# Add TBF as subdirectory
set(TBF_BUILD_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
add_subdirectory(external/tbf)

# Your executable
add_executable(your_app src/main.cpp)

# Link against TBF
target_link_libraries(your_app PRIVATE tbf)

# TBF headers are automatically available via target_include_directories

Your source code (src/main.cpp):

#include <tbf/Writer.hpp>
#include <tbf/Reader.hpp>

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    bool name_based = true;

    tbf::Writer writer(name_based);
    auto& root = writer.RootObject();
    root.FieldString("message", "Hello, TBF!");
    writer.Finish();

    tbf::Reader reader(writer.Data(), writer.Size(), name_based);
    const auto& read_root = reader.RootObject();

    if (read_root.IsValid()) {
        std::optional<std::string_view> message = read_root.ReadString("message");
        if (message.has_value()) {
            std::cout << "Message: " << message.value() << std::endl;
        } else {
            std::cout << "Failed to read 'message' field." << std::endl;
        }
    } else {
        std::cout << "Root object is not valid." << std::endl;
    }
    
    return 0;
}

Build Options

• TBF_BUILD_TESTS - Build test suite (default: OFF)

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

Copyright (c) 2026 Electrodiux - www.electrodiux.com

Key Points:

• ✅ Free to use, modify, and distribute
• ✅ Private forks allowed
• ✅ Commercial use permitted
• ⚠️ Must credit Electrodiux as the original author
• ⚠️ No warranty or liability

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

When contributing, please:

• Maintain code quality and style consistency
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed
• Credit Electrodiux as the original author in derivative works