Custom Serializers

This repo provides several implementations of custom serializers in Lingua Franca.

Syntax

To use the custom serializer in a connection, the syntax is as follows:

<source_port_reference> -> <destination_port_reference> after <time_value> serializer "<serializer_name>"

The <serializer_name> can be any python package that exports a class Serializer that satisfies the following API:

class Serializer():
    def serialize(self, obj)->bytes:
        return <bytes_object>
    def deserialize(self, message:bytes):
        return <deserialized_object>

Implementation

This repo provides several implementations.

• pickle_serializer: Default pickle serializer.
• pickle5_serializer: Serializes and deserializes with pickle version 5.
• plasma_serializer: zero-copy inter-process communication using Plasma In-Memory Object Store.
• shm_serializer: shared memory inter-process communication.
• transparent: asserts the object being passed in the connection is a bytes object and transfer it as-is.

Install

Install the desired <serializer_name> with command

pip install ./<serializer_name>/

Compatability

This feature is backwards compatible. If <serializer_name> is any of [NATIVE, ROS2, PROTO], it will use these serialization methods instead of finding a python package.