his/.qoder/skills/understand/languages/protobuf.md

Protobuf Language Prompt Snippet

Key Concepts

• Message Types: message blocks defining structured data with typed, numbered fields
• Field Numbers: Permanent identifiers (1-536870911) — never reuse deleted numbers for backward compatibility
• Scalar Types: int32, int64, string, bytes, bool, float, double, and more
• Enums: Named integer constants for categorical values
• Services: service blocks defining RPC (Remote Procedure Call) method signatures
• Oneof: Mutually exclusive field groups — only one field in the group can be set
• Repeated Fields: repeated keyword for list/array fields
• Maps: map<key_type, value_type> for dictionary/hash fields
• Packages and Imports: Namespace organization and cross-file references
• Proto2 vs Proto3: Proto3 (current) removes required/optional distinction and defaults all fields

Notable File Patterns

• *.proto — Protocol Buffer definition files
• proto/**/*.proto — Organized proto definitions by service or domain
• buf.yaml / buf.gen.yaml — Buf tool configuration for linting and code generation
• *_pb2.py / *.pb.go / *_pb.ts — Generated code (should be excluded from analysis)

Edge Patterns

• Protobuf files defines_schema for the gRPC service handlers that implement the declared RPCs
• Message type references create related edges between proto files sharing types
• Proto import statements create depends_on edges between proto files
• Generated code files are depends_on the proto source that produces them

Summary Style

"Protocol Buffer definitions for N message types and M RPC services in the user authentication domain." "Shared proto types defining common request/response envelopes and error codes." "gRPC service definition with N methods for real-time data streaming and batch processing."