> I don't think it's really any more difficult to write a simple protocol that uses binary data compared to text. I don’t really think so either… I mean, I’ve

> I don't think it's really any more difficult to write a simple protocol that uses binary data compared to text. I don’t really think so either… I mean, I’ve done both and it’s really not terrible to use binary. I think text is marginally easier to parse, but once to have the routines to read the right endian-ness, the advantage is minor. As you said, the biggest concern (as always) should be the design. A good design can be implemented easily with either mode. However, it is significantly easier to debug a text protocol. Attaching a monitor or capturing packets is easier with text as the parsers are much easier and more generic.