You store your configuration as plain text in your repository and whatnot. When it comes to deployment you just compile it to a binary file.
Cap’n’proto also has plain text and JSON serialization formats if you really want to have your deployed config file be directly human-editable and deserialize from that. I was just noting a very cool feature of having your config written in cap’n’proto and it’s what Cloudflare uses to maintain a bunch of config internally if I read Kenton’s allusions to it correctly.
I think the parent is typing to say that the data is stored in a map which is read to a proto, etc. Kinda like what GPRC does over HTTP. Which kinda makese sense. The schema gives you a great idea of what "should be", and the typing/errors/etc are understood by the host language.
Are you suggesting using a binary format for your config files? I think most people would find that more trouble than a decent text format.
> ... than you get with things like text protobuf
You can just use protobuf's canonical JSON representation (thought the lack of ability to use comments is annoying).