Does Eclipse have an editor/viewer for java serialized files?

Question

I'm serializing my objects with ObjectOutputStream(FileOutputStream(File)) and deserializing them with the analogous InputStreams . Is there a way to look inside of these serialized files (in eclipse preferably), so I can check, if all necessary attributes were written?

edit: google search was negative

Answer 1

Write some tests (using Eclipse's built-in JUnit support).

The only way to "look inside" these files is to use ObjectInputStream(FileInputStream(File)) , unless you're a bytecode guru and use a hex editor. If you actually have some testing, there is no need to "look inside" anything.

Answer 2

While this isn't a full fledged editor, Eamonn McManus has written a transcoder which deciphers a serialized blob into a human readable form. http://weblogs.java.net/blog/2007/06/12/disassembling-serialized-java-objects

If binary compatibility and performance are considerations, this would be a good time to look into Externalizable instead of Serializable.

Answer 3

This is not a "free standing" answer, just an expansion of OrangeDog's answer.

"Write some tests (using Eclipse's built-in JUnit support). "

If you want to test serialization, then write tests that do the following:

1. Serialize one object to a file.
2. Deserialize to a different object from the same file.
3. Compair both objects to see that the deserialized object contains all of the values that were supposed to have been serialized ( ie make sure that "all necessary attributes were written" ).

Answer 4

Write a class which loads the file and deserialises the object. Then use Eclipse's Debugging View to browse the object (by setting a breakpoint).