nicklockwood/FastCoding

Free

A faster and more flexible binary file format replacement for NSCoding, Property Lists and JSON

FreeFree tier

Type

Open Source

Visit Website GitHub (38 stars)

About nicklockwood/FastCoding

FastCoder is a high-performance binary serialization format for Cocoa objects and object graphs, designed as a replacement for NSPropertyList, NSJSONSerializer, NSKeyedArchiver/Unarchiver, and Core Data. It offers faster read performance than any built-in serialization mechanism in Cocoa and faster write performance than any except JSON, while producing smaller file sizes than NSKeyedArchiver. FastCoder supports more data types than JSON or Plist, including NSURL, NSValue, NSSet, and NSOrderedSet, and allows any supported object type to be used as a dictionary key. It can automatically serialize custom classes via property inspection or via the FastCoding/NSCoding protocols. The library is thread-safe, ARC-compatible (though better performance with ARC disabled), and includes buffer overflow protection for security. It supports iOS 9.0+/macOS 10.10+ and is open source under a permissive license.

Key Features

High-performance binary serialization for Cocoa objects and object graphs

Faster read performance than all built-in Cocoa serialization mechanisms

Faster write performance than any mechanism except JSON

Smaller file size than NSKeyedArchiver, comparable to other methods

Supports more data types than JSON or Plist: NSURL, NSValue, NSSet, NSOrderedSet, and any object as dictionary key

Automatic serialization of custom classes using property inspection

Can also serialize via FastCoding or NSCoding protocols

Thread-safe: concurrent encoding and decoding from multiple threads

Buffer overflow protection to prevent code injection attacks

ARC-compatible (better performance with ARC disabled)

Pros & Cons

Pros

Faster read performance than NSCoding, NSPropertyList, and NSJSONSerializer
Supports a wider range of data types than JSON or Plist
Automatic serialization of custom classes reduces boilerplate code
Thread-safe and secure against buffer overflow attacks
Free and open source with a permissive license
Easy to integrate without additional dependencies or setup

Cons

Best performance requires disabling ARC on FastCoder.m (requires compiler flag)
Not recommended for loading arbitrary files from untrusted sources due to potential class injection risk
Limited to Cocoa platforms (iOS/macOS/tvOS/watchOS) due to Objective-C dependency
Write performance still slower than JSON, which may be preferred for simple data types

Best For

Replacing NSKeyedArchiver/Unarchiver for faster object serialization in iOS/macOS appsStoring complex object graphs with more data types than JSON or Plist allowPersisting custom class instances without manual encoding via property inspectionHigh-performance caching or networking serialization where speed is criticalServing as a lightweight alternative to Core Data for simple object persistence

FAQ

What is FastCoder?

FastCoder is a high-performance binary serialization format for Cocoa objects and object graphs, intended as a replacement for NSPropertyList, NSJSONSerializer, NSKeyedArchiver/Unarchiver, and Core Data.

What platforms does FastCoder support?

FastCoder supports iOS 9.0+ and macOS 10.10+ as the earliest deployment targets, and is compatible back to iOS 4.0 and macOS 10.6.

How do I install FastCoder?

Simply drag the FastCoder.h and FastCoder.m files into your Xcode project.

Is FastCoder thread-safe?

Yes, it is safe to call FastCoder encoding and decoding class methods concurrently from multiple threads, provided you do not mutate the object while it is being encoded.

How does FastCoder handle security?

FastCoder checks for buffer overflow errors during parsing and throws an exception if data instructs reading past the end. It prevents code injection, but loading arbitrary FastCoded files from untrusted sources may still pose a class creation risk.

Can FastCoder serialize custom classes automatically?

Yes, FastCoder can automatically serialize custom classes using property inspection. If that doesn't work, you can implement the FastCoding or NSCoding protocols.