Language bindings

DDS is defined at two levels. The PIM — Platform-Independent Model — describes Participant, Topic, Publisher, Subscriber, DataWriter, DataReader as abstract concepts. The PSM — Platform-Specific Mapping — maps those concepts onto a concrete programming language: which class, which method signature, which threading model, which error type.

OMG has ratified PSMs for C++ (DDS-PSM-Cxx 1.0) and Java (DDS-Java-PSM). For C#, Python, TypeScript and Rust the industry uses vendor-defined PSMs — every vendor invents their own, which is why moving an application from one vendor to another usually means rewriting all the binding code.

ZeroDDS ships seven native PSMs in one workspace. The OMG-defined C++ and Java PSMs are spec-conform; the C#, Python, TypeScript, Rust and C-FFI PSMs are vendor PSMs documented as ZeroDDS extensions. All seven sit on the same Pure-Rust core — no JNI, no P/Invoke, no transitive C dependencies.

The cheap option for a multi-language project is one C-FFI library plus thin wrappers in every other language. It compiles fast and looks clean from outside. The hidden cost shows up in production.

First, performance: every call across an FFI boundary serialises arguments, checks lifetimes, and pays a context-switch tax. For a hot-path DataWriter writing 10 kHz that is a measurable hit. Native bindings call directly into Rust functions with zero-cost type erasure.

Second, idiomatic surface: a Java developer expects @Override, AutoCloseable, virtual threads; a Python developer expects async-await, mypy-checkable types; a C# developer expects IDisposable, async/await with CancellationToken. A C-FFI wrapper can fake those — badly. A native binding renders them naturally.

Third, audit trail: when a Java auditor traces a security incident, they want to see Java source, not a JNI wrapper around an opaque C function. Native bindings make every layer auditable in the language of the consuming team.

Fourth, no JNI / no P/Invoke / no transitive C toolchain: ZeroDDS' Java is Pure Java (no native libraries), the C# is Pure C# (no DllImport). The whole binding compiles with the standard JDK / .NET SDK — no platform-specific .so / .dll to manage.

ABI guarantees

Within a major version (1.x), wire-stable across every patch release. Source-stable within a minor (1.M.x). Breaking source changes only at major version boundaries (1 → 2). See the upgrade-guide topic for the matrix.

Upgrade guide →

Per-language pointers

Rust

cargo add zerodds-dcps zerodds-rs. Async via dcps-async. The published 1.0.0-rc.7 crates need Rust 1.88+, a build from source Rust 1.97+.

cargo add zerodds-dcps zerodds-rs

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source
• docs.rs

C++

OMG DDS-PSM-Cxx 1.0. Headers emitted by zerodds-idlc generate --lang c++. CMake integration shipped.

find_package(ZeroDDS REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(my_app ZeroDDS::dcps)

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source

C# / .NET

dotnet add package ZeroDDS --prerelease. .NET 8+, async/await.

dotnet add package ZeroDDS --version 1.0.0-rc.7

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source
• NuGet

Java

OMG DDS-Java-PSM (org.omg.dds.*). Pure Java — no JNI, no native lib.

<dependency>org.zerodds:omgdds:1.0.0-rc.7</dependency>

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source
• Javadoc

Python

PyO3 bindings for the DCPS API plus an AsyncIO wrapper; typed topics from zerodds-idlc generate --lang python. abi3 wheels for Python 3.9 and newer.

pip install zerodds

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Vendor spec
• Source
• PyPI / docs

TypeScript

Two variants: Node.js (full DCPS + bridges) and browser bundle (WebSocket only).

npm install @zerodds/node@rc

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source
• npm / docs

C-FFI

Stable C ABI. Link with -lzerodds. Header pulls everything from libzerodds.so / zerodds.dll.

#include <zerodds.h>

• Minimal example
• Binding doc
• Man page
• Source
• docs.rs