protobuf required

Protobuf (Protocol Buffers) is a way to define the structure of data that is exchanged between different systems or programming languages. It allows you to define messages using a specific syntax and then generates code in multiple languages to serialize and deserialize those messages efficiently.

The "required" keyword used in Protobuf is a field modifier that indicates a field is mandatory in a message. This means that every message instance must have a value assigned to that field, and it cannot be omitted or left undefined.

Here's an example of how the "required" keyword is used in a Protobuf message definition:

syntax = "proto3";

message Person {
  required string name = 1;
  required int32 age = 2;
}

In this example, both the "name" and "age" fields are marked as required. When creating an instance of the "Person" message, you must provide values for both of these fields.

It's worth noting that in the latest version of Protobuf (proto3), the "required" keyword has been deprecated. Instead, fields are considered optional by default, and it's up to the application logic to enforce any required fields.