Need Help Getting Started

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casey.crookston@viewpointcs.com
==============

Ok, sorry, but I am really lost on what steps to take to get started using 
protobuf.  I am using Visual Studio 2013 and my solution is all VB.NET in .NET 
4.0.  I have installed the NuGet package as per these instructions: 
https://www.nuget.org/packages/protobuf-net

I can see it when I go to Tools >NuGet Packet Manager.  

So... now what?

What is a .proto file and how do I create one?  Do I need to create a brand new 
Protobuf enabled WCF service? Or can I use an existing one?  Is there a .dll I 
need to import into my existing WCF Service Library?  

Your Getting Started page says that serialize an object, I use:

    using (var file = File.Create("person.bin")) {
        Serializer.Serialize<Person>(file, person);
    }

But "Serialize" is not recognized.

I know all of this probably seem intuitive to you, but it's really not to me.  
Please help me out here.

Thanks!

Original issue reported on code.google.com by caseycro...@gmail.com on 6 Nov 2014 at 8:29

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Deployment
You must deploy the protobuf-net dll alongside your project. Make sure you 
deploy the version appropriate to your environment.

Where is the .dll file?

Original comment by caseycro...@gmail.com on 6 Nov 2014 at 8:32

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Is it only possible to serialize to a file?  What if you want to return a 
serialized object in a WCF service?  Will that work?

Original comment by caseycro...@gmail.com on 6 Nov 2014 at 8:59