Skip to content

Messages & wire (message)

Message types, msgId, serialization, and partial-field send / overrides — the network-facing bundle.

Which protocol strings are interop vs Deuk native: start at Wire protocol families.

In IDL

In IDL

  • message is the opinionated framework keyword for standard DeukPack network routing. Beyond basic field IDs and rules, the compiler implicitly auto-injects a routing header (e.g., MsgInfo) at the top of the wire payload for seamless runtime routing.
  • Services: Thrift-style service / methods stay in the AST as RPC definitions (bindings depend on generators/runtime).

⚠️ Architectural Guide: message vs record (Header Overhead)

When adopting DeukPack, ensure you choose the correct keyword for your architectural needs.

1. Pure Data Serialization (0% Header Overhead) ➡️ Use record or struct If your network stack (TCP/UDP) already utilizes a proprietary framing or routing standard and you simply want DeukPack to strictly parse payloads, use record or struct. DeukPack will generate pure serialization logic with absolutely 0 bytes overhead (it does not inject any headers).

2. Utilizing DeukPack's Routing Backbone (Auto-Injected Header) ➡️ Use message<ID> Assigning an ID to a message, like message<1000>, implies integration with DeukPack's official router. The engine will automatically inject the header struct (MsgInfo) into your wire transmission for out-of-the-box C#/Elixir router switch generation.

The injected header is set to required: false (Optional). If clients explicitly drop or nullify it at runtime, the byte allocation will still shrink to 0.

[Blueprint: Global Custom Headers (message_header)] In an upcoming release, DeukPack will support global header substitution via a message_header MyCustomHeader declaration in any .deuk file (e.g., deukpack_override.deuk), seamlessly overriding the default MsgInfo structure to fit your proprietary framework protocols without changing your message architectures.

Protocols & registries

  • ProtocolRegistry: maps message types ↔ msgId (and related ids) for dispatch and serialization routing.
  • CLI --protocol / wireFamily: see the table in Wire protocol families. Interop Thrift (tbinary, etc.) is centered on generated C# / C++; JS can use the same wire with interopRootStruct on options, or pack / json / yaml without schema.
  • C#: IDeukPackReader / IDeukPackWriter per protocol.
  • --wire-profile: subset / DTO-style emit. See Wire profile subset.

Unified Write (subset fields & overrides)

  • C#: Write(oprot, fieldIds, overrides?) — fieldIds non-null ⇒ only those fields; overrides ⇒ per-field ID replacement values; use null for unused parameters.
  • JavaScript: toJson / toBinary (and pack helpers) with the same (obj, fieldIds, overrides) shape.

Tutorial: Unified Write tutorial
Deep API: DEUKPACK_WRITE_WITH_OVERRIDES_API
Tables in API reference — Unified Write.

Hands-on (DeukPack Kits)

Product story: Protocol.