Applied XML Programming for Microsoft® .NET

The Object Serialization Process

In the .NET Framework, object serialization is offered through the classes in the System.Runtime.Serialization namespace. These classes provide type fidelity and support deserialization. As you probably know, the deserialization process is the reverse of serialization. Deserialization takes in stored information and re-creates objects from that information.

Object serialization in the .NET Framework allows you to store public, protected, and private fields and automatically handles circular references. A circular reference occurs when a child object references a parent object and the parent object also references the child object. Serialization classes in the .NET Framework can detect these circular references ...