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https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/AVRO-27?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=12707541#action_12707541
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Todd Lipcon commented on AVRO-27:
---------------------------------

It turns out the paper I read has been implemented in JDK 7. If someone has 
this mythical beast installed, it would be very interesting to see the results 
of Matt's benchmark code.

Here's a link to someone else's experiences with it:

http://lingpipe-blog.com/2009/03/30/jdk-7-twice-as-fast-as-jdk-6-for-arrays-and-arithmetic/

Whether relying on optimizations only available in a not-yet-released JVM is a 
good idea is certainly up for debate. Given that Avro is still in its infancy, 
JDK 7 might be common by the time Avro is in production use.

> Consistent Overhead Byte Stuffing (COBS) encoded block format for Object 
> Container Files
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>                 Key: AVRO-27
>                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/AVRO-27
>             Project: Avro
>          Issue Type: New Feature
>          Components: spec
>            Reporter: Matt Massie
>         Attachments: COBSCodec.java
>
>
> Object Container Files could use a 1 byte sync marker (set to zero) using 
> zig-zag and COBS encoding within blocks to efficiently escape zeros from the 
> record data.
> h4. Zig-Zag encoding
> With zig-zag encoding only the value of 0 (zero) gets encoded into a value 
> with a single zero byte.  This property means that we can write any non-zero 
> zig-zag long inside a block within concern for creating an unintentional sync 
> byte. 
> h4. COBS encoding
> We'll use COBS encoding to ensure that all zeros are escaped inside the block 
> payload.  You can read http://www.sigcomm.org/sigcomm97/papers/p062.pdf for 
> the details about COBS encoding.
> h1. Block Format
> All blocks start and end with a sync byte (set to zero) with a 
> type-length-value format internally as follows:
> || name || format || length in bytes || value || meaning ||
> | sync | byte | 1 | always 0 (zero) | The sync byte serves as a clear marker 
> for the start of a block |
> | type | zig-zag long | variable | must be non-zero | The type field 
> expresses whether the block is for _metadata_ or _normal_ data. |
> | length | zig-zag long | variable | must be non-zero | The length field 
> expresses the number of bytes until the next record (including the cobs code 
> and sync byte).  Useful for skipping ahead to the next block. |
> | cobs_code | byte | 1 | see COBS code table below | Used in escaping zeros 
> from the block payload |
> | payload | cobs-encoded | Greater than or equal to zero | all non-zero bytes 
> | The payload of the block |
> | sync | byte | 1 | always 0 (zero) | The sync byte serves as a clear marker 
> for the end of the block |
> h2. COBS code table 
> || Code || Followed by || Meaning | 
> | 0x00 | (not applicable) | (not allowed ) |
> | 0x01 | nothing | Empty payload followed by the closing sync byte |
> | 0x02 | one data byte | The single data byte, followed by the closing sync 
> byte | 
> | 0x03 | two data bytes | The pair of data bytes, followed by the closing 
> sync byte |
> | 0x04 | three data bytes | The three data bytes, followed by the closing 
> sync byte |
> | n | (n-1) data bytes | The (n-1) data bytes, followed by the closing sync 
> byte |
> | 0xFD | 252 data bytes | The 252 data bytes, followed by the closing sync 
> byte |
> | 0xFE | 253 data bytes | The 253 data bytes, followed by the closing sync 
> byte |
> | 0xFF | 254 data bytes | The 254 data bytes *not* followed by a zero. |
> (taken from http://www.sigcomm.org/sigcomm97/papers/p062.pdf)
> h1. Encoding
> Only the block writer needs to perform byte-by-byte processing to encode the 
> block.  The overhead for COBS encoding is very small in terms of the 
> in-memory state required.
> h1. Decoding
> Block readers are not required to do as much byte-by-byte processing as a 
> writer.  The reader could (for example) find a _metadata_ block by doing the 
> following:
> # Search for a zero byte in the file which marks the start of a record
> # Read and zig-zag decode the _type_ of the block
> #* If the block is _normal_ data, read the _length_, seek ahead to the next 
> block and goto step #2 again
> #* If the block is a _metadata_ block, cobs decode the data

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