Java^TM Object Serialization Specification

Object serialization in the Java^TM system is the process of creating a serialized representation of objects or a graph of objects. Object values and types are serialized with sufficient information to insure that the equivalent typed object can be recreated. Deserialization is the symmetric process of recreating the object or graph of objects from the serialized representation. Different versions of a class can write and read compatible streams.

Revision 1.4.2, JDK^TM 1.2 Beta4, June 22, 1998