序列化和数据库存储之间的区别

Question

What is difference between serialization and database storage In java? Doesnt serialization actually mean storing data in a database on server?

Answer 1

Let's think of the database like a bowl.

If you want to keep stuff from going everywhere, you put it in the bowl.

Your stuff is the data you want to store. Right now it's out there, on the table, in a box.

So we're going to take the stuff out of that box. The problem is, the stuff in our box probably won't fit into the bowl. How do we fix that?

We need to change it into the type of object that will fit into our bowl. We need to serialize it.

Our serialized data will fit in the bowl now. So we take our serialized data and we pour it into the bowl, and we have the most important meal of the day.

In case this was all really complicated. Simplified: to serialize is to change , and a database is a place to store stuff. Often, you change stuff before you store it.

Answer 2

Serialization can be used to prepare an object for database storage - it is a the process of converting an object into a storable or transmittable format, such as a string or a stream of bytes.

We can't store a java object into most normal storage types as-is - but if we for instance serialize it into JSON we can store it. We can then retrieve the JSON at a later point from the storage and deserialize it to get back an object the same as our original object, given that the serialization and deserialization is properly implemented.

Of course, this doesn't have to entail database storage - having the object serialized into a JSON stream for instance also allows us to transmit it over the internet to be deserialized on another computer.

Answer 3

No. Not at all. Serialization in Java is an API which generates a storeable version of an object that you can later load back from disk (or wherever you store it) and make it back into an object with ( hopefully! ) the same state as it once had. There are alternatives to it such as Google Protobufs which are better for networked applications, but it is good enough for most simple uses.

Answer 4

Serialization is the process of converting a data structure into a form that can be persisted (saved on a hard drive) in any way. It can be binary, xml, plain text, html, ... usually the goal is to be able to deserialize, that is restore back the state of your data structure at the time it was persisted.

A database is just the place (and not the way ) where you store your data.