flat-0.4: README.md
[](https://travis-ci.org/Quid2/flat) [](http://hackage.haskell.org/package/flat) Haskell implementation of [Flat](http://quid2.org/docs/Flat.pdf), a principled, language-independent and efficient binary data format. ### Performance For some hard data, see this [comparison of the major haskell serialisation libraries](https://github.com/haskell-perf/serialization). Briefly: * Transfer time (serialisation time + transport time on the network + deserialisation at the receiving end): `flat` is usually faster for all but the highest network speeds * Size: `flat` produces significantly smaller binaries than all other libraries (3/4 times usually) * Serialization: `store`, `persist` and `flat` are faster * Deserialization: `store`, `flat`, `persist` and `cereal` are faster ### Documentation * [Tutorial](docs/src/Flat-Tutorial.html) * [Full Package Docs](docs/src) * [Flat Format Specification](http://quid2.org) ### Installation Get the latest stable version from [hackage](https://hackage.haskell.org/package/flat). ### Other Stuff You Might Like #### [ZM - Language independent, reproducible, absolute types](https://github.com/Quid2/zm) To decode `flat` encoded data you need to know the type of the serialised data. This is ok for applications that do not require long-term storage and that do not operate in open distributed systems. For those who do, you might want to supplement `flat` with something like [ZM](https://github.com/Quid2/zm). #### Ports for other languages [TypeScript-JavaScript](https://github.com/Quid2/ts) and [Purescript](https://www.purescript.org/) ports are under development. Get in touch if you would like to help porting `flat` to other languages.