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Serialization


What Is Serialization?

Serializing is the process of converting an object into a linear sequence of bytes that can be stored or transferred.
Deserializing is the process of converting a previously serialized sequence of bytes into an object.
 
These techniques convert objects into binary, SOAP, or Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents that can be easily stored, transferred, and retrieved.

The Following section is meant for Object Serialization and De-serialization

Serialization Format
                                     
Following are the two formatters that are available to be used in serialization/deserialization

BinaryFormatter: This formatter is the most efficient way to serialize objects that will be read by only .NET Framework–based applications. It converts the type into a stream of binary data.

SoapFormatter: This is XML-based formatter and is the most reliable way to serialize objects that will be transmitted across a network or read by non–.NET Framework applications.
 
How to Serialize an Object (Common for Binary and Soap Formatter)

The steps for serializing an object are as follows:
1. Create a stream object to hold the serialized output.
2. Create a BinaryFormatter object
3. Call the BinaryFormatter.Serialize method to serialize the object and output the result to the stream.


How to De-serialize an Object

De-serializing restores a saved object.
The steps for deserializing an object are as follows:
1. Create a stream object to read the serialized output.
2. Create a BinaryFormatter object.
3. Create a new object to store the deserialized data.
4. Call the BinaryFormatter.Deserialize method to deserialize the object, and cast it to the correct type.

Custom classes can be made serializable and deserializable by adding the Serializable attribute to the class.

If specific members are not to be used for serialization, add the NonSerialized attribute to the member as follows

[NonSerialized] {Modifier}{Return type} method name

Example:

Serialization
using System;
using System.Web;
using System.Web.UI;
using System.IO;
//this is for binary formatter
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;
//this is for Soap Formatter
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Soap;

public partial class Serialize : System.Web.UI.Page
{
    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
    {
        string data = "Pradeep's Test For Serialization";
        FileStream fs = new FileStream("Pradeep.data", FileMode.Create);
        //Binary Formatter
        BinaryFormatter bf = new BinaryFormatter();
        //Soap Formatter (Uncomment if using Soap)
       // SoapFormatter sf=new SoapFormatter();
        //serialise using
        bf.Serialize(fs, data);
        //uncomment if using Soap
       // sf.Serialize(fs, data);
        fs.Close();
    }
}

 
De-serialization
 
Use the Following code to deserialize the data serialized above

FileStream fs = new FileStream("Pradeep.data", FileMode.Open);
BinaryFormatter bf = new BinaryFormatter();
Response.Write((string)bf.Deserialize(fs));//data is converted back to string




This article just covered the basics of Serialization. Shortly I’ll cover one more aspect of Serialization, the XMLSerialization.

After that, I’ll cover the Serialization options introduced new in .Net 3.5 namely the DataContractSerializer and NetDataContractSerializer.

Till then…Happy Coding!!!

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