Protobuf is typically serialised using a TLV-style encoding. https://protobuf.dev/programming-guides/encoding/ https://protobuf.dev/programming-guides/encoding

Protobuf is typically serialised using a TLV-style encoding. https://protobuf.dev/programming-guides/encoding/ https://protobuf.dev/programming-guides/encoding/ A major value of protobuf is in its ecosystem of tools (codegen, lint, etc); it's not only an encoding. And you don't generally have to build or maintain any of it yourself, since it already exists and has significant industry investment.