Google Protocol Buffers v3.0.0-alpha-1 发布，新特性包括：
Removal of field presence logic for primitive value fields, removal of required fields, and removal of default values. This makes proto3 significantly easier to implement with open struct representations, as in languages like Android Java, Objective C, or Go.
Removal of unknown fields.
Removal of extensions, which are instead replaced by a new standard type called Any.
Fix semantics for unknown enum values.
Addition of maps.
Addition of a small set of standard types for representation of time, dynamic data, etc.
A well-defined encoding in JSON as an alternative to binary proto encoding.
同时部分 proto3 支持 C++ 和 Java，目前上述的 6 和 7 暂时没有实现。详细介绍请看发行说明。
Protocol Buffers (ProtocolBuffer/ protobuf )是Google公司开发的一种数据描述语言，类似于XML能够将结构化数据序列化，可用于数据存储、通信协议等方面。现阶段支持C++、JAVA、Python等三种编程语言。
引用来自“asinbow”的评论
“现阶段支持C++、JAVA、Python等三种编程语言。”这个“等”字有点欠斟酌。⑤列举后煞尾：北京、上海、广州等三大城市。
引用来自“遨游苍穹”的评论
thrift模仿秀?