 | An "automatic" way to save and restore Java Objects
and primitive data types |
| Serialization saves fields that are non-transient, non-static,
and non-private
 | Objects are read with the readobject method and written
with the writeObject method |
| Primitives are read with the methods of DataInput and
written with the methods of DataOutput |
//
// Serialize today's date to a file.
//
FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("C:\\DATA\\TEMP\\TODAY.OBJ");
ObjectOutput oo = new ObjectOutputStream(fos);
oo.writeObject("Today");
oo.writeObject(new Date());
oo.flush();
//
// Deserialize a string and date from a file.
//
FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("C:\\DATA\\TEMP\\TODAY.OBJ");
ObjectInputStream ois = new ObjectInputStream(fis);
String today = (String)ois.readObject();
Date date = (Date)ois.readObject();
|
| Caveat: Only Objects that implement the Serializable and
Externalizable interfaces can be (de)serialized. |
| Additional caveats include: Can't serialize inner classes |
| Cool things Serialization enable: sending Java Objects perfectly
to remote machines via the network |
| Full details at http://web2.java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.3/docs/guide/serialization/spec/serialTOC.doc.html |
