# Review: Language-Specific Format Analysis — xwformats

**Date:** 2025-01-07  
**Source:** docs/_archive/LANGUAGE_SPECIFIC_FORMATS.md (archived; value extracted here)  
**Artifact type:** Format addition rationale (Rust, Python, Go, TypeScript)  
**Scope:** Bincode, RON, Postcard, Dill, Gob

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## Summary

Analysis of language-specific serialization formats for cross-language interoperability. **Outcome:** Bincode, RON, Postcard, and Dill were added to xwformats; Gob was not added (decode-only, limited value).

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## Recommendations and Status

| Format   | Language | Priority (then) | Status in xwformats |
|----------|----------|-----------------|----------------------|
| Bincode  | Rust     | High            | ✅ Implemented (binary) |
| RON      | Rust     | Medium          | ✅ Implemented (text)   |
| Postcard | Rust     | Medium          | ✅ Implemented (binary) |
| Dill     | Python   | Medium          | ✅ Implemented (binary) |
| Gob      | Go       | Low / Skip      | ❌ Not added (decode-only) |

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## Rationale Preserved

- **Bincode:** Rust ↔ Python interoperability; compact binary.
- **RON:** Human-readable config; Rust-like syntax; useful for shared configs.
- **Postcard:** Embedded/IoT; space-efficient; Rust ↔ Python.
- **Dill:** Extended pickle (functions, lambdas, sessions); scientific/distributed use.
- **Gob:** Decode-only in Python; Go typically uses JSON/Protobuf for cross-language; skipped.

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## Traceability

- **Requirements:** REF_22_PROJECT (FR-004: binary and text formats).
- **Architecture:** REF_13_ARCH (formats/binary, formats/text).
- **This review:** Rationale for Bincode, RON, Postcard, Dill in xwformats.

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*Value extracted from _archive; original file removed. Per GUIDE_35_REVIEW.*
