Formatter Comparison

ServiceBus.Core provides formatter implementations based on both System.Text.Json and Newtonsoft.Json.

The right formatter depends on the application requirements, serializer features and performance profile.

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Available Formatters

Package	Formatter	Serializer
ServiceBus.Formatters.Ms	MsJsonDataFormatter	System.Text.Json
ServiceBus.Formatters.Newtonsoft	JsonDataFormatter	Newtonsoft.Json
ServiceBus.Formatters.Newtonsoft	RwJsonDataFormatter	Newtonsoft.Json

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Comparison

Formatter	Best For	Notes
MsJsonDataFormatter	Modern .NET applications	Serializes directly to UTF-8 bytes.
JsonDataFormatter	Simple Newtonsoft.Json usage	Uses JsonConvert and Encoding.
RwJsonDataFormatter	Allocation-sensitive Newtonsoft.Json usage	Uses reader/writer pipeline to reduce allocation pressure.

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System.Text.Json vs Newtonsoft.Json

Area	System.Text.Json	Newtonsoft.Json
Default .NET integration	Excellent	External package
ASP.NET Core alignment	Strong	Optional
Legacy compatibility	Lower	Strong
Custom converters	Good	Excellent
Performance profile	Strong	Good
Advanced polymorphism	More explicit	Very flexible

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Selection Guidelines

Choose MsJsonDataFormatter when:

• the application is new;
• System.Text.Json is sufficient;
• ASP.NET Core defaults are preferred;
• direct UTF-8 payload generation is valuable.

Choose JsonDataFormatter when:

• Newtonsoft.Json compatibility is required;
• a simple formatter implementation is preferred;
• allocation pressure is not a primary concern.

Choose RwJsonDataFormatter when:

• Newtonsoft.Json is required;
• message volume is high;
• allocation reduction matters;
• reducing GC pressure is important.

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Compatibility Rule

Publishers and subscribers must agree on the payload format.

The safest approach is to use the same formatter implementation on both sides of a message flow.

graph LR
    Publisher["Publisher<br/>IDataFormatter"]
    Payload["byte[] payload"]
    Subscriber["Subscriber<br/>IDataFormatter"]

    Publisher --> Payload
    Payload --> Subscriber

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Recommendation

For most new .NET applications, start with:

MsJsonDataFormatter

Use Newtonsoft-based formatters when compatibility, existing converters or advanced serializer behavior requires Newtonsoft.Json.