publish a common `pbrt` module and use it

[c-cube]

hi 👋!

In this ocaml-protoc issue, I suggest to separate the runtime module of ocaml-protoc (originally lifted from ppx_deriving_protobuf) into its own package, to reduce runtime dependencies of code that uses protobufs. Since the runtime API is mostly the same, I think ppx_deriving_protobuf could also make use of that module, what do y'all think?

As a side note, it'd solve #9 (see the PR), and the performance of some of the functions has been improved a bit (mostly in relation to varint), see here and here.

[gasche]

Sounds like a good plan... especially if I'm not the one doing the work.

[c-cube]

Alright :). The question is, where would this library live? I also like that the module here is called "protobuf", but there's an existing package of the same name on opam…

[gasche]

The question is, where would this library live?

No strong opinions here. If you and @mransan are willing to maintain it, it could live in the same source repository as ocaml-protoc, as a separate opam package. Or it could in its own repository.

I also like that the module here is called "protobuf", but there's an existing package of the same name on opam…

protobuf-runtime?

Note: protobuf (opam, dev repo) appears to be dormant, so you might try to reuse the name by asking kindly, but I'm not sure that the protobuf name more accurately describe this "minimal runtime code" than what's currently in the protobuf project.