.net - Fastest serializer and deserializer with lowest memory footprint in C#?

Question

I am currently using the binary formatter (Remoting) to serialize and deserialize objects for sending around my LAN.

I have recently upgraded from 2.0 to .NET 3.5. Has 3.5 introduced any new types to improve serialization performance?

I’ve looked at the DataContractSerializer, but this serializes anything to underlying XML right … which must increase the memory footprint.

What’s the fastest serializer for sending objects across my LAN? I don’t care a about interop or versioning …. I need speed!

I am open to third-party open source alternatives.

Answer 1

It sounds like Protocol Buffers might be what you're looking for.

There are three .NET implementations that I'm aware of: protobuf-net, protobuf-csharp-port and Proto#.

The performance comparisons show that Protocol Buffers outperform the built-in serializers in terms of both size and serialization/deserialization speed.