serialization

serialization is the process of converting a data structure or object into a format that can be stored
When the resulting series of bits is reread according to the serialization format, it can be used to create a semantically identical clone of the original object

Serialization provides:

• a method of persisting objects which is more convenient than writing their properties to a text file on disk, and re-assembling them by reading this back in.
• a method of issuing remote procedure calls, e.g., as in SOAP
• a method for distributing objects, especially in software componentry such as COM, CORBA, etc.
• a method for detecting changes in time-varying data.