Serialization

Definition of Serialization

Serialization is the process of taking an object and converting it to a format in which it can be transported across a network or persisted to a storage location. The storage location could be as simple as using a file or a database. The serialized format contains the object's state information. Deserialization is the process of using the serialized state information to reconstruct the object from the serialized state to its original state. In essence, the process of serialization allows an object to be serialized, shipped across the network for remoting or persisted in a storage location such as the ASP.NET cache, and then be reconstructed for use at a later point in time.
Serialization Formats

 

Types of Serialization

Serialization can be of the following types:
· Binary Serialization
· SOAP Serialization
· XML Serialization
· Custom Serialization

Binary Serialization

Binary serialization is a mechanism which writes the data to the output stream such that it can be used to re-construct the object automatically. The term binary in its name implies that the necessary information that is required to create an exact binary copy of the object is saved onto the storage media. A notable difference between Binary serialization and XML serialization is that Binary serialization preserves instance identity while XML serialization does not. In other words, in Binary serialization the entire object state is saved while in XML serialization only some of the object data is saved. Binary serialization can handle graphs with multiple references to the same object; XML serialization will turn each reference into a reference to a unique object.

SOAP Serialization
The SOAP protocol is ideal for communicating between applications that use heterogeneous architectures. In order to use SOAP serialization in .NET we have to add a reference to System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Soap in the application. The basic advantage of SOAP serialization is portability. The SoapFormatter serializes objects into SOAP messages or parses SOAP messages and extracts serialized objects from the message.

XML Serialization
According to MSDN, "XML serialization converts (serializes) the public fields and properties of an object or the parameters and returns values of methods, into an XML stream that conforms to a specific XML Schema definition language (XSD) document. XML serialization results in strongly typed classes with public properties and fields that are converted to a serial format (in this case, XML) for storage or transport. Because XML is an open standard, the XML stream can be processed by any application, as needed, regardless of platform." Implementing XML Serialization in .Net is quite simple. The basic class that we need to use is the XmlSerializer for both serialization and de-serialization. The Web Services use the SOAP protocol for communication and the return types and the parameters are all serialized using the XmlSerializer class. XML Serialization is however, much slower compared to Binary serialization.

 

Define a Serializable class in C#

Using ISerializable

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.runtime.serialization.iserializable.getobjectdata.aspx