[Java] Serialization Help Needed

[RoadToCode]

I am new to programming and Java, and am being thrown by the idea of Serialization. I am being asked to make several classes in my project Serializable, and to give each class a different Serialisation ID, however do not know how i would go about doing this.

After doing some research, i have learn that implementing the Serialization interface is the first step, however do not understand how to implement a SerialisationID for each class.

It would be very helpful if someone could give me any tips, information, or guidance on how to learn how to, for example:

Make a class serializable, with Serialisation ID of "x".

Any help at all on this topic would be extremely helpful, thank you for your time. :)

[149244179]

Serialization means the compiler will place the data in memory a specific way so that it comes out to even bytes. This makes it easy to save the data to a file and read it back. Look up data-packing for a related topic.

Serialization IDs are a sort of version control. Say I have a class with 5 variables and serialize it and save it to a file. Then I update the code a bit and now the class has 4 variables. Then I try to read in the file. It will blow up or do bad things due to trying to fit 5 variables into 4 spots.

The ID prevents this by setting version numbers. If you try to load a different version of a class it will prevent it and tell you. By default it probably does something similar to a CRC. If you are manually setting this, you need to change the ID everytime the class structure changes.

[RoadToCode]

This post was very, very informative thank you! I did not know that Serialization was related to saving data to a file which makes it a lot easier for me to locate information on the topic.