v5.1: Add nextField helper for nicer decoding code#144
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nextField and skipField helpersnextField helper for nicer decoding code
stepankuzmin
approved these changes
May 28, 2026
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Adds a new method to
PbfReader,pbf.nextField(end), that advances to the next field and returns its number, which enables fast and ergonomic message reading code. Codegen incompile.jsnow emitsnextField-based loops:vs the previous v5 inline-while form, which required every caller to remember
tag >>> 3,pbf.type = tag & 7(only for messages with packable fields — easy to get wrong), and the matchingpbf.skip(tag)capturing the loop-localtag.readFieldsis also reimplemented in terms ofnextField, but kept for backward compatibility.Why
The post-v5 inline-while reader has a quiet footgun: hand-written readers must set
pbf.type = tag & 7to makereadPackedVarintetc. correctly distinguish packed vs unpacked encodings. Forgetting it silently desyncs the cursor and surfaces as a misleadingUnimplemented type: Nerror several frames deep. Real-world report from mapbox-gl-js's pbf v5 migration.nextFieldmakes thepbf.typeinvariant impossible to violate, hides the magic shifts (>>> 3,& 7), and gives codegen and hand-written readers a single, identical shape.Performance
Mapbox vector-tile workload (439 tiles, 39.3 MB), Node v26, 9-run medians × 3 trials:
readFieldscallbacknextField(this PR)Within noise of v5; no regression on
readFieldseither (V8 inlinesnextFieldthrough the callback path).