Introduction to C# Serialization

The following article provides an outline on C# Serialization. The process by which the object instance is converted into a data stream is called serialization and the state of the object instance is converted into data stream because it can be transported across different networks made to be persisted in a location of storage. This serves as an advantage of serialization to transmit the converted data stream across different networks in a format compatible on cross platforms and saves the converted stream data into a medium of storage in a persistent or non-persistent object state so that the same copy can be created in the later time.

Steps of C# Serialization Object

Given below are the steps of C# Serialization Object:

• A stream object is created.
• A BinaryFormatter object is created.
• Serialize() method is called.

Working of C# Serialization

• Whenever we are working with applications, it is necessary to store the data in a medium which is either persistent or non-persistent so that the same data can be retrieved later. This can be achieved by using the concept of Serialization.
• The process of converting an instance of the object into a byte stream moving the state of the object into the memory or database of the file is called Serialization.
• Serialization is essential to transmit the object across the network to cross platforms in a compatible format.
• A clone of an object can also be created using Serialization.
• Runtime.Serialization namespace must be included in the program to make use of Serialization in C#.
• [Serializable] attribute is used to make a class Serializable in C#.

An example Class to demonstrate [Serializable] class:

Code:

[Serializable] public class Check
{
public int code;
public string name;
}

• Similarly if we want to make any members of the class non serializable, we can use [NonSerialized()] attribute.

Consider the example class below to demonstrate [NonSerialized()] attribute:

Code:

[Serializable] public class Check
{
public int code;
public string name;
[NonSerialized()] Public double price;
}

• The following types of serialization are supported by C#.

Given below are the types of serialization that are supported by C#:

1. Binary Serialization

• The fastest of all the techniques of serialization is Binary serialization.
• An object can be serialized to a binary stream using Binary Serialization.
• The identity of the object is preserved while the object is serialized to an output stream using binary serialization.
• System.Runtime.Serilaization.Formatters.Binary namespace must be included in the program to make use of binary serialization.

2. SOAP Serialization

• Simple Object Access Protocol is the abbreviation of SOAP.
• We use Simple Object Access Protocol Serialization if we have to transfer the objects from one application to other application which are made of architectures that are heterogeneous.
• Portability is the main benefit of using Simple Object Access Protocol Serialization.
• An object can be serialized in the form of Simple Object Access Protocol using Simple Object Access Protocol Serialization.
• System.Runtime.Serilaization.Formatters.Soap namespace must be included in the program to make use of Simple Object Access Protocol serialization.

3. XML Serialization

• The public members of the instance of a class can be serialized into an XML stream using XML Serialization.
• The speed of XML Serialization is very slower when compared to the speed of binary Serialization.
• Cross platform support is provided by using XML Serialization.
• XML Serialization is based on text.
• XML Serialization is easily readable.
• XML Serialization is easily editable.
• A property can be set on XmlAttribute to serialize the property using XML Serialization.

Consider the code below to demonstrate the use of XmlAttribute:

Code:

[XmlAttribute("Name")] public string Name
{
get
{
return Name;
}
set
{
Name = val;
}
}

• We make use of XmlSerializer to serialize an object using XML Serialization.

Consider the code below to demonstrate the use of XmlSerializer:

Code:

XmlSerializer Serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Prod));
using (TextWriter Writer = new StreamWriter(@"C:\Prod.xml"))
{
xmlSerializer.Serialize(Writer, prodObject);
}

4. Custom Serialization

• In order to control the serialization and deserialization of a type of instance, we make use of Custom Serialization.
• Custom Serialization can be implemented by the implementation of ISerializable interface.
• GetObjectData() method is declared by ISerializable interface.

Consider the code below to demonstrate custom Serialization by implementing the ISerializable interface:

Code:

[Serializable] public class Prod : ISerializable
{
public void GetObjectData(SerializationInfo information, StreamingContext cont)
{
//Usual code
}
}

Example of C# Serialization

Given below is the example of C# Serialization:

C# program to demonstrate the concept of Serialization.

Code:

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
using System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
//a namespace called demo is created
namespace Demo
{
//Serializable attribute is declared
[Serializable] //a class check is defined which will be used for serialization
class Check
{
public int identity;
public String nam;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
//an object of the check class is created to serialize it to the file Example.txt
Check ob = new Check();
ob.identity = 10;
ob.nam = "Shobha";
//a file stream is created
IFormatter format = new BinaryFormatter();
Stream stream1 = new FileStream(@"E:\Example.txt",FileMode.Create,FileAccess.Write);
//serialization of the object of the class check is done
format.Serialize(stream1, ob);
stream1.Close();
//a file stream is created
stream1 = new FileStream(@"E:\Example.txt",FileMode.Open,FileAccess.Read);
//the object of the class check is deserialized
Check ob1 = (Check)format.Deserialize(stream1);
//the data is written to the console
Console.WriteLine(ob1.identity);
Console.WriteLine(ob1.nam);
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
}

Output:

In the above program, a namespace called demo is defined. Then a Serializable attribute is defined. A class check is defined to demonstrate the concept of serialization using this class. Two properties identity and nam are defined in the class to which the values 10 and Shobha are assigned respectively. Then an object of the check class is created to serialize it to the file Example.txt. Then a formatter class is defined to convert the object of the class check to a binary stream.

Then a file stream object is created to open the file Example.txt in write mode to write the values of the properties identity and nam into it. Then serialize method is used to transfer the binary data into the text file. Finally, We use deserialize method to deserialize the contents of the text file Example.txt and the data is written to the console as shown in the output snapshot above.

This is a guide to C# Serialization. Here we discuss the introduction, steps of C# serialization object, working and example. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

1. Deserialization in C#
2. BinaryWriter in C#
3. C# Create JSON Object
4. Convert String to Double in C#

The post C# Serialization appeared first on EDUCBA.