LaTeX to Protocol Buffers Converter

About LaTeX to Protocol Buffers Converter

Convert LaTeX tables to Protocol Buffers (protobuf) schema definitions with automatic type detection. Protocol Buffers is Google's language-neutral, platform-neutral extensible mechanism for serializing structured data.

Key Features

• Automatic Type Detection: Detects int32, double, bool, and string types from data
• Proto2 & Proto3 Support: Generate schemas for both Protocol Buffers versions
• Custom Message Names: Specify message and package names
• Field Sanitization: Automatically converts headers to valid field names
• Repeated Messages: Creates table wrapper with repeated rows
• File Download: Save as .proto file
• Sequential Field Numbers: Automatically assigns field numbers

How to Use

1. Input LaTeX Table: Paste your LaTeX table or upload a .tex file
2. Configure Options: Set message name, package, and syntax version
3. Review Schema: The Protocol Buffers schema updates automatically
4. Download or Copy: Use the .proto file in your project

Type Detection

• int32: Detected for integer values (e.g., 28, 45, -10)
• double: Detected for decimal values (e.g., 3.14, 99.9)
• bool: Detected for true/false values
• string: Default type for text and mixed content

Example Conversion

LaTeX Input:

\begin{tabular}{llll}
\toprule
Name & Age & City & Department \\
\midrule
John Doe & 28 & New York & Engineering \\
Jane Smith & 34 & London & Marketing \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}

Protocol Buffers Output (proto3):

syntax = "proto3";

package example;

message TableData {
  string name = 1;
  int32 age = 2;
  string city = 3;
  string department = 4;
}

message TableDataTable {
  repeated TableData rows = 1;
}

Common Use Cases

• gRPC Services: Define message types for gRPC APIs
• Data Serialization: Efficient binary serialization format
• Microservices: Language-agnostic data exchange
• API Design: Define structured data schemas
• Database Schemas: Convert table structures to protobuf
• Cross-Platform: Use with C++, Java, Python, Go, and more

Proto2 vs Proto3

• proto3: Simpler syntax, no required/optional keywords, recommended for new projects
• proto2: Legacy syntax with optional/required fields, better for existing systems

Field Naming Rules

Field names are automatically sanitized to follow Protocol Buffers conventions:

• Converted to lowercase
• Spaces and special characters replaced with underscores
• Multiple underscores collapsed to single underscore
• Leading and trailing underscores removed

Using the Generated Schema

Compile the .proto file:

# For Python
protoc --python_out=. tabledata.proto

# For Java
protoc --java_out=. tabledata.proto

# For C++
protoc --cpp_out=. tabledata.proto

# For Go
protoc --go_out=. tabledata.proto

Integration Example (Python)

import tabledata_pb2

# Create a message
person = tabledata_pb2.TableData()
person.name = "John Doe"
person.age = 28
person.city = "New York"
person.department = "Engineering"

# Serialize to binary
binary_data = person.SerializeToString()

# Deserialize from binary
new_person = tabledata_pb2.TableData()
new_person.ParseFromString(binary_data)

Benefits of Protocol Buffers

• Compact: Binary format is smaller than JSON/XML
• Fast: Faster serialization/deserialization
• Type-Safe: Strongly typed schema definitions
• Backward Compatible: Easy to evolve schemas
• Language Agnostic: Works with 20+ programming languages
• Code Generation: Automatic code generation for all languages

Privacy & Security

All conversions happen locally in your browser. Your LaTeX data is never uploaded to any server, ensuring complete privacy and security.