protobuf c++ generate Message instead of MessageLite

Question

I have some proto definitions that i want to compile to C++ headers/code. When i do, all the data types are MessageLite , which I understand is more light weight for resource constraint devices.

However, MessageLite is missing a bunch of functions that i need (eg: MessageToJsonString and SerializeToOsStream ). Is there a way for protoc to generate Message instead of MessageLite ?

Alternatively, is there a better way to work with MessageLite ? Namely, debugging and serializing to file?

Answer 1

Look in your protobuf definition for the following line:

option optimize_for = LITE_RUNTIME;

and either comment it out, or remove it. That line is instructing protoc to use MessageLite, not Message.