Non Generic Methods

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Any chance you could add non-generic serialize / deserialize methods ?

My current case involves a tcp socket client/server where I do not know what im 
passing over the wire until after deserialization.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by Torak...@gmail.com on 15 Aug 2011 at 5:18

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Sure thing: Serializer.NonGeneric.*

Also, in v2, *all* the methods on TypeModel are non-generic (in v2, the 
non-generic API is the primary API, with the generic methods simply being 
proxies to the non-generic API)

Original comment by marc.gravell on 15 Aug 2011 at 5:55

[GoogleCodeExporter]

This use would be ideal :

object person = new Person();

byte[] buffer = Serializer.Serialize(person);

// Socket Communication Here

object personB = Serializer.Deserialize(buffer);

// MvvMLight Messenger
Messenger.Send(personB);

Original comment by Torak...@gmail.com on 15 Aug 2011 at 5:57

[GoogleCodeExporter]

That is pretty much all there, via NonGeneric. Re deserialize - by itself, 
protobuf-net *also* doesn't know the object type unless you tell it. No type 
information is embedded by default. My preferred way to handle that scenario is 
with the TypeResolver parameter to the WithLengthPrefix methods, where-by you 
can associate an integer key with types (in your code - external to 
protobuf-net) and do the resolution as part of reading the stream.

Original comment by marc.gravell on 15 Aug 2011 at 6:38

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I experienced hard to find NonGeneric. I feel that by .NET standards it is hard 
to discover. From APIs I met, no generic methods good to go with generics. Of 
course there some drawbacks because unexpereinced devs will ask why there such 
non generics methods, but change will keep Protobuf more on .NET side.

Original comment by asd.and....@gmail.com on 20 Feb 2013 at 8:29

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Perhaps the real thing to do here is to advertise more that the *primary* API 
in v2 is actually `TypeModel` (not `Serializer`); the `TypeModel` is 
*primarily* non-generic. Indeed, the entire core is non-generic (generics were 
causing a few problems)

Original comment by marc.gravell on 20 Feb 2013 at 2:37

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Cool, TypeModel feels better for me, but in namespace I will never look:)

Original comment by asd.and....@gmail.com on 22 Feb 2013 at 12:00