got binary logging actually fully working (!!!)
diff --git a/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.cc b/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.cc
index bdc14ec..0413072 100644
--- a/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.cc
+++ b/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.cc
@@ -57,16 +57,15 @@
 
 }  // namespace
 namespace internal {
+namespace {
 
-void FillInMessage(log_level level, const char *format, va_list ap,
-                   LogMessage *message) {
+void FillInMessageBase(log_level level, LogMessage *message) {
   Context *context = Context::Get();
 
-  ExecuteFormat(message->message, sizeof(message->message), format, ap);
-
   message->level = level;
   message->source = context->source;
-  memcpy(message->name, context->name.c_str(), context->name.size() + 1);
+  memcpy(message->name, context->name.c_str(), context->name.size());
+  message->name_length = context->name.size();
 
   time::Time now = time::Time::Now();
   message->seconds = now.sec();
@@ -75,12 +74,75 @@
   message->sequence = context->sequence++;
 }
 
+}  // namespace
+
+void FillInMessageStructure(log_level level,
+                            const ::std::string &message_string, size_t size,
+                            const MessageType *type,
+                            const ::std::function<size_t(char *)> &serialize,
+                            LogMessage *message) {
+  type_cache::AddShm(type->id);
+  message->structure.type_id = type->id;
+
+  FillInMessageBase(level, message);
+
+  if (message_string.size() + size > sizeof(message->structure.serialized)) {
+    LOG(FATAL, "serialized struct %s (size %zd) and message %s too big\n",
+        type->name.c_str(), size, message_string.c_str());
+  }
+  message->structure.string_length = message_string.size();
+  memcpy(message->structure.serialized, message_string.data(),
+         message->structure.string_length);
+
+  message->message_length = serialize(
+      &message->structure.serialized[message->structure.string_length]);
+  message->type = LogMessage::Type::kStruct;
+}
+
+void FillInMessage(log_level level, const char *format, va_list ap,
+                   LogMessage *message) {
+  FillInMessageBase(level, message);
+
+  message->message_length =
+      ExecuteFormat(message->message, sizeof(message->message), format, ap);
+  message->type = LogMessage::Type::kString;
+}
+
 void PrintMessage(FILE *output, const LogMessage &message) {
-  fprintf(output, "%s(%" PRId32 ")(%05" PRIu16 "): %s at"
-          " %010" PRId32 ".%09" PRId32 "s: %s",
-          message.name, static_cast<int32_t>(message.source), message.sequence,
-          log_str(message.level), message.seconds, message.nseconds,
-          message.message);
+#define BASE_FORMAT \
+  "%.*s(%" PRId32 ")(%05" PRIu16 "): %s at %010" PRId32 ".%09" PRId32 "s: "
+#define BASE_ARGS                                             \
+  static_cast<int>(message.name_length), message.name,        \
+      static_cast<int32_t>(message.source), message.sequence, \
+      log_str(message.level), message.seconds, message.nseconds
+  switch (message.type) {
+    case LogMessage::Type::kString:
+      fprintf(output, BASE_FORMAT "%.*s", BASE_ARGS,
+              static_cast<int>(message.message_length), message.message);
+      break;
+    case LogMessage::Type::kStruct:
+      char buffer[LOG_MESSAGE_LEN];
+      size_t output_length = sizeof(buffer);
+      size_t input_length = message.message_length;
+      if (!PrintMessage(
+              buffer, &output_length,
+              message.structure.serialized + message.structure.string_length,
+              &input_length, type_cache::Get(message.structure.type_id))) {
+        LOG(FATAL,
+            "printing message (%.*s) of type %s into %zu-byte buffer failed\n",
+            static_cast<int>(message.message_length), message.message,
+            type_cache::Get(message.structure.type_id).name.c_str(),
+            sizeof(buffer));
+      }
+      if (input_length > 0) {
+        LOG(WARNING, "%zu extra bytes on message of type %s\n", input_length,
+            type_cache::Get(message.structure.type_id).name.c_str());
+      }
+      fprintf(output, BASE_FORMAT "%.*s: %.*s\n", BASE_ARGS,
+              static_cast<int>(message.message_length), message.message,
+              static_cast<int>(output_length), buffer);
+      break;
+  }
 }
 
 }  // namespace internal
diff --git a/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.h b/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.h
index f2d9752..3d5b387 100644
--- a/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.h
+++ b/aos/common/logging/logging_impl.h
@@ -40,21 +40,30 @@
 // using a gcc function attribute.
 
 // The struct that the code uses for making logging calls.
-// Packed so that it ends up the same under both linux and vxworks.
-struct __attribute__((packed)) LogMessage {
-#ifdef __VXWORKS__
-  static_assert(sizeof(pid_t) == sizeof(int),
-                "we use task IDs (aka ints) and pid_t interchangeably");
-#endif
-  // Actually the task ID (aka a pointer to the TCB) on the cRIO.
+struct LogMessage {
+  enum class Type : uint8_t {
+    kString, kStruct,
+  };
+
+  int32_t seconds, nseconds;
+  // message_length is the length of everything in message for all types.
+  size_t message_length, name_length;
   pid_t source;
   static_assert(sizeof(source) == 4, "that's how they get printed");
   // Per task/thread.
   uint16_t sequence;
+  Type type;
   log_level level;
-  int32_t seconds, nseconds;
   char name[100];
-  char message[LOG_MESSAGE_LEN];
+  union {
+    char message[LOG_MESSAGE_LEN];
+    struct {
+      uint32_t type_id;
+      size_t string_length;
+      // The message string and then the serialized structure.
+      char serialized[LOG_MESSAGE_LEN - sizeof(type) - sizeof(string_length)];
+    } structure;
+  };
 };
 static_assert(shm_ok<LogMessage>::value, "it's going in a queue");
 
@@ -245,8 +254,16 @@
   } cork_data;
 };
 
-// Fills in *message according to the given inputs. Used for implementing
-// LogImplementation::DoLog.
+// Fills in all the parts of message according to the given inputs (with type
+// kStruct).
+void FillInMessageStructure(log_level level,
+                            const ::std::string &message_string, size_t size,
+                            const MessageType *type,
+                            const ::std::function<size_t(char *)> &serialize,
+                            LogMessage *message);
+
+// Fills in *message according to the given inputs (with type kString).
+// Used for implementing LogImplementation::DoLog.
 void FillInMessage(log_level level, const char *format, va_list ap,
                    LogMessage *message);
 
@@ -255,8 +272,8 @@
 
 // Prints format (with ap) into output and correctly deals with the result
 // being too long etc.
-void ExecuteFormat(char *output, size_t output_size, const char *format,
-                   va_list ap);
+size_t ExecuteFormat(char *output, size_t output_size, const char *format,
+                     va_list ap);
 
 // Runs the given function with the current LogImplementation (handles switching
 // it out while running function etc).
diff --git a/aos/common/logging/logging_interface.cc b/aos/common/logging/logging_interface.cc
index 68a88a8..b4244fb 100644
--- a/aos/common/logging/logging_interface.cc
+++ b/aos/common/logging/logging_interface.cc
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 #include <stdarg.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
+#include <type_traits>
+
 #include "aos/common/die.h"
 
 // This file only contains the code necessary to link (ie no implementations).
@@ -21,19 +23,21 @@
   cork_data.Reset();
 }
 
-void ExecuteFormat(char *output, size_t output_size,
-                   const char *format, va_list ap) {
-  static const char *continued = "...\n";
+size_t ExecuteFormat(char *output, size_t output_size, const char *format,
+                     va_list ap) {
+  static const char *const continued = "...\n";
   const size_t size = output_size - strlen(continued);
   const int ret = vsnprintf(output, size, format, ap);
+  typedef ::std::common_type<typeof(ret), typeof(size)>::type RetType;
   if (ret < 0) {
     LOG(FATAL, "vsnprintf(%p, %zd, %s, args) failed with %d (%s)\n",
         output, size, format, errno, strerror(errno));
-  } else if (static_cast<uintmax_t>(ret) >= static_cast<uintmax_t>(size)) {
+  } else if (static_cast<RetType>(ret) >= static_cast<RetType>(size)) {
     // Overwrite the '\0' at the end of the existing data and
     // copy in the one on the end of continued.
     memcpy(&output[size - 1], continued, strlen(continued) + 1);
   }
+  return ::std::min<RetType>(ret, size);
 }
 
 void RunWithCurrentImplementation(
diff --git a/aos/common/logging/queue_logging.h b/aos/common/logging/queue_logging.h
index 191d4c7..df343df 100644
--- a/aos/common/logging/queue_logging.h
+++ b/aos/common/logging/queue_logging.h
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 namespace aos {
 namespace logging {
 
+#if 1
 #define LOG_STRUCT(level, message, structure)                          \
   do {                                                                 \
     static const ::std::string kAosLoggingMessage(                     \
@@ -23,6 +24,9 @@
       abort();                                                         \
     }                                                                  \
   } while (false)
+#else
+#define LOG_STRUCT(level, message, structure)
+#endif
 
 template <class T>
 void DoLogStruct(log_level level, const ::std::string &message,