Different Serialization Approaches for Java

Different Serialization Approaches for Java

Serialization refers to the process of converting an object’s state to a byte stream in order to store it or transfer it to another location. It is an important feature provided by the Java language as it allows making objects persistent easily. There are various approaches available for serialization in Java that can be used depending on the application requirements.

Default or Legacy Serialization Approach

This approach for serialization is included in the Java package java.io and is also known as Default Serialization. This approach is used by the classes that implement java.io. Serializable interface from Java 1.x version. This serialization approach includes a few steps that involve reading and writing the object’s data to a byte stream. The ObjectOutputStream and ObjectInputStream are the main classes involved in this serialization approach.

Externalizable Interface

The Externalizable interface is a sub-interface of Serializable and provides more control over the serialization process. It provides two methods named writeExternal() and readExternal() that need to be implemented while using this interface. Using this interface, one can decide which fields of the class need to be serialized and control other aspects such as the format of the data being written to the stream. This approach is helpful when some sensitive information needs to be encrypted and stored or when the format of serialized data is to be changed.

XML Serialization

XML Serialization is the process of converting an object’s state into XML representation. This approach uses an XmlEncoder and XmlDecoder object to convert the object’s state into an XML document. This approach is mostly used when there is a need to store the object’s data to an XML document instead of a binary file or stream. There are a few limitations with this approach such as the serializing and deserializing of non-serializable objects is not possible.

JSON Serialization

JSON Serialization is the process of converting an object’s state into JSON representation. This approach uses an JsonEncoder and JsonDecoder object to convert the object’s state into an JSON document. This approach is mostly used when there is a need to store the object’s data to an JSON document instead of a binary file or stream. JSON Serialization offers better readability and performance than XML Serialization.

Protocol Buffers Serialization

Protocol Buffers Serialization is a faster version of the binary serialization approach. It is a compact binary format that is developed by Google for better performance. It allows developers to define a data structure with description language and then generate classes from it. This approach has support for a variety of languages including Java.

Conclusion

Serialization is an important concept in Java programming language. Various approaches are available for serialization in Java. The most common approach is the Default or Legacy approach but it has its own limitation. Other approaches like Externalizable, XML, JSON, and Protocol Buffers can be used if the application requires more control over the serialization process.