Bond

Bond

Overview

Bond is a cross-platform, schema-first serialization framework developed by Microsoft. It defines data schemas in .bond files that are compiled into language-specific classes, supporting C#, C++, Python, and Java. Bond provides three binary protocols (Compact Binary, Fast Binary, and Simple Binary) and a JSON protocol. It excels in scenarios requiring high-performance serialization with schema evolution guarantees, making it popular in large-scale distributed systems at Microsoft. Bond handles schema versioning gracefully, allowing fields to be added or removed without breaking existing consumers.

Schema Definition

Define your data structures in .bond schema files.

// schemas/models.bond
namespace Example.Models;

enum Priority
{
    Low = 0,
    Medium = 1,
    High = 2,
    Critical = 3
}

struct Address
{
    0: string Street;
    1: string City;
    2: string State;
    3: string ZipCode;
    4: string Country = "US";
}

struct Person
{
    0: string FirstName;
    1: string LastName;
    2: uint32 Age;
    3: nullable<Address> HomeAddress;
    4: vector<string> EmailAddresses;
    5: map<string, string> Metadata;
    6: Priority Priority = Medium;
}

Compact Binary Serialization

Use Compact Binary protocol for the best balance of size and speed.

using Bond;
using Bond.IO.Unsafe;
using Bond.Protocols;
using Example.Models;

// Create an object
var person = new Person
{
    FirstName = "Alice",
    LastName = "Smith",
    Age = 30,
    HomeAddress = new Address
    {
        Street = "123 Main St",
        City = "Seattle",
        State = "WA",
        ZipCode = "98101"
    },
    EmailAddresses = { "alice@example.com", "alice@work.com" },
    Metadata = { ["department"] = "Engineering" },
    Priority = Priority.High
};

// Serialize to Compact Binary
var output = new OutputBuffer();
var writer = new CompactBinaryWriter<OutputBuffer>(output);
Serialize.To(writer, person);
byte[] serializedBytes = output.Data.ToArray();

// Deserialize from Compact Binary
var input = new InputBuffer(serializedBytes);
var reader = new CompactBinaryReader<InputBuffer>(input);
Person deserialized = Deserialize<Person>.From(reader);

Fast Binary Serialization

Use Fast Binary for maximum deserialization speed when payload size is less critical.

using Bond;
using Bond.IO.Unsafe;
using Bond.Protocols;
using Example.Models;

var person = new Person
{
    FirstName = "Bob",
    LastName = "Jones",
    Age = 25
};

// Fast Binary - optimized for deserialization speed
var output = new OutputBuffer();
var writer = new FastBinaryWriter<OutputBuffer>(output);
Serialize.To(writer, person);
byte[] fastBytes = output.Data.ToArray();

// Deserialize
var input = new InputBuffer(fastBytes);
var reader = new FastBinaryReader<InputBuffer>(input);
Person result = Deserialize<Person>.From(reader);

JSON Protocol

Use the JSON protocol for debugging, logging, or interop with non-Bond systems.

using Bond;
using Bond.IO.Unsafe;
using Bond.Protocols;
using Example.Models;
using System.IO;
using System.Text;

var person = new Person
{
    FirstName = "Carol",
    LastName = "Davis",
    Age = 35,
    EmailAddresses = { "carol@example.com" }
};

// Serialize to JSON
using var textWriter = new StringWriter();
var jsonWriter = new SimpleJsonWriter(textWriter);
Serialize.To(jsonWriter, person);
jsonWriter.Flush();
string json = textWriter.ToString();

// Deserialize from JSON
var jsonReader = new SimpleJsonReader(
    new StringReader(json));
Person fromJson = Deserialize<Person>.From(jsonReader);

Schema Evolution

Bond supports adding and removing fields while maintaining compatibility.

using Bond;
using Bond.IO.Unsafe;
using Bond.Protocols;

// Version 1 schema
// struct Order { 0: string Id; 1: double Amount; }

// Version 2 schema adds a new field
// struct Order { 0: string Id; 1: double Amount; 2: string Currency = "USD"; }

// Data serialized with V1 can be deserialized with V2
// The new field gets its default value ("USD")

// Data serialized with V2 can be deserialized with V1
// The unknown field (Currency) is safely skipped

// Example: transcoding between protocols with schema migration
var inputBuffer = new InputBuffer(v1SerializedData);
var reader = new CompactBinaryReader<InputBuffer>(inputBuffer);

var outputBuffer = new OutputBuffer();
var writer = new CompactBinaryWriter<OutputBuffer>(outputBuffer);

// Transcode automatically handles schema differences
Transcode<CompactBinaryReader<InputBuffer>,
          CompactBinaryWriter<OutputBuffer>>
    .From(reader, writer);

Service Integration Pattern

Register Bond serialization as a service for dependency injection.

using Bond;
using Bond.IO.Unsafe;
using Bond.Protocols;

public interface IBondSerializer
{
    byte[] Serialize<T>(T obj) where T : new();
    T Deserialize<T>(byte[] data) where T : new();
}

public sealed class CompactBondSerializer : IBondSerializer
{
    public byte[] Serialize<T>(T obj) where T : new()
    {
        var output = new OutputBuffer();
        var writer = new CompactBinaryWriter<OutputBuffer>(output);
        Bond.Serialize.To(writer, obj);
        return output.Data.ToArray();
    }

    public T Deserialize<T>(byte[] data) where T : new()
    {
        var input = new InputBuffer(data);
        var reader = new CompactBinaryReader<InputBuffer>(input);
        return Bond.Deserialize<T>.From(reader);
    }
}

// Registration
builder.Services.AddSingleton<IBondSerializer, CompactBondSerializer>();

Protocol Comparison

Best Practices

1. Define all data contracts in .bond schema files: use the Bond code generator (gbc) to produce C# classes rather than hand-coding [Bond.Schema] attributes, ensuring schema consistency across languages.
2. Assign explicit field ordinals starting from 0: every field must have a unique, stable ordinal number that never changes once published; use gaps (0, 1, 5, 10) to reserve space for future fields.
3. Use Compact Binary as the default wire format: it provides the best tradeoff between serialization speed and payload size for most production workloads.
4. Set meaningful default values for new fields: when evolving a schema, new fields with defaults allow old consumers to deserialize new data without errors.
5. Never reuse or reassign field ordinals: removing a field should retire its ordinal permanently; reusing it with a different type breaks backward compatibility.
6. Use nullable<T> for optional complex fields: this allows the field to be absent on the wire and avoids allocating empty objects during deserialization.
7. Wrap Bond serialization behind an interface: inject IBondSerializer so you can swap protocols (Compact to Fast) or migrate to a different serialization library without changing business logic.
8. Benchmark serialization in your specific workload: use BenchmarkDotNet to compare Compact vs. Fast vs. Simple Binary for your actual data shapes, as performance varies by schema complexity.
9. Version your .bond schema files in source control: treat schema files as API contracts with pull request reviews, semantic versioning, and breaking-change detection in CI.
10. Use transcoding for protocol conversion: when bridging systems that use different Bond protocols, use Transcode instead of deserialize-then-reserialize to avoid unnecessary object allocation.