Practical API Design at Netflix, Part 2: Protobuf FieldMask for Mutation Operations

This post details the practical application of Protobuf FieldMask for mutation operations in Netflix's API design. It introduces a pattern where a single `UpdateProductionRequest` includes both the data to be mutated and a FieldMask specifying which fields should be updated or removed. The post illustrates how to use `FieldMaskUtil.fromStringList()` to construct FieldMasks for single or nested fields, and discusses the implications of empty/missing FieldMasks on schema evolution, proposing solutions like requiring the FieldMask or implementing versioning.