design-serialization-schema

Create well-versioned serialization schemas that evolve gracefully without breaking consumers.

| System | Format | Strengths | Best For |

| JSON Schema | JSON | Widely supported, flexible validation | REST APIs, config validation | | Protocol Buffers | Binary | Compact, fast, strong typing, built-in evolution | gRPC, microservices | | Apache Avro | Binary/JSON | Schema in data, excellent evolution support | Kafka, data pipelines |

Design serialization schemas using JSON Schema, Protocol Buffer definitions, or Apache Avro. Covers schema versioning, backwards compatibility, validation rules, and evolution strategies for long-lived data formats. Use when defining a new API contract or data interchange format, adding fields to an existing schema without breaking consumers, migrating between schema versions, choosing between schema systems, or documenting data validation rules for automated enforcement. Source: pjt222/development-guides.