将对象保存为XML格式还是序列化？

Question

I am developing an application in Java, where I have some classes, like Person and Company . All these classes have some instances eg

public class Person{
      private String firstName;
      private String lastName;
      private String mail;

     //more code..
}

So in some point I create an Object type of Person, which I want to save it for future use. I am new to this, so I have this question. Should I use Object serialization or should I save it in XML format? I realize that an XML format has its advantages that's why I am asking (If I want to save it in XML format, I use XMLEncoder class right?) Which one should I use?

Answer 1

Serialization is much more efficient than XML and easier to get working.

Writing out an object in a serialized form is a little faster than text/XML form. Serialized form is much more compact and so saves memory and bandwidth. It's also much faster and easier to parse than XML.

However you want to use XML if you want to edit these files or use them with other program languages (it's just easier to work with).

I would go with serialization .