org.apache.commons.lang3

Class SerializationUtils

java.lang.Object

org.apache.commons.lang3.SerializationUtils

public class SerializationUtils
extends java.lang.Object

Assists with the serialization process and performs additional functionality based on serialization.

• Deep clone using serialization
• Serialize managing finally and IOException
• Deserialize managing finally and IOException

This class throws exceptions for invalid null inputs. Each method documents its behaviour in more detail.

#ThreadSafe#

Since:

1.0

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description
SerializationUtils() SerializationUtils instances should NOT be constructed in standard programming.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
static <T extends java.io.Serializable> T	clone(T object) Deep clone an Object using serialization.
static <T> T	deserialize(byte[] objectData) Deserializes a single Object from an array of bytes.
static <T> T	deserialize(java.io.InputStream inputStream) Deserializes an Object from the specified stream.
static byte[]	serialize(java.io.Serializable obj) Serializes an Object to a byte array for storage/serialization.
static void	serialize(java.io.Serializable obj, java.io.OutputStream outputStream) Serializes an Object to the specified stream.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

equals, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

SerializationUtils

public SerializationUtils()

SerializationUtils instances should NOT be constructed in standard programming. Instead, the class should be used as SerializationUtils.clone(object).

This constructor is public to permit tools that require a JavaBean instance to operate.

Since:

2.0

Method Detail

clone

public static <T extends java.io.Serializable> T clone(T object)

Deep clone an Object using serialization.

This is many times slower than writing clone methods by hand on all objects in your object graph. However, for complex object graphs, or for those that don't support deep cloning this can be a simple alternative implementation. Of course all the objects must be Serializable.

Type Parameters:

T - the type of the object involved

Parameters:

object - the Serializable object to clone

Returns:

the cloned object

Throws:

SerializationException - (runtime) if the serialization fails

serialize

public static void serialize(java.io.Serializable obj,
                             java.io.OutputStream outputStream)

Serializes an Object to the specified stream.

The stream will be closed once the object is written. This avoids the need for a finally clause, and maybe also exception handling, in the application code.

The stream passed in is not buffered internally within this method. This is the responsibility of your application if desired.

Parameters:

obj - the object to serialize to bytes, may be null

outputStream - the stream to write to, must not be null

Throws:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if outputStream is null

SerializationException - (runtime) if the serialization fails

serialize

public static byte[] serialize(java.io.Serializable obj)

Serializes an Object to a byte array for storage/serialization.

Parameters:

obj - the object to serialize to bytes

Returns:

a byte[] with the converted Serializable

Throws:

SerializationException - (runtime) if the serialization fails

deserialize

public static <T> T deserialize(java.io.InputStream inputStream)

Deserializes an Object from the specified stream.

The stream will be closed once the object is written. This avoids the need for a finally clause, and maybe also exception handling, in the application code.

The stream passed in is not buffered internally within this method. This is the responsibility of your application if desired.

If the call site incorrectly types the return value, a ClassCastException is thrown from the call site. Without Generics in this declaration, the call site must type cast and can cause the same ClassCastException. Note that in both cases, the ClassCastException is in the call site, not in this method.

Type Parameters:

T - the object type to be deserialized

Parameters:

inputStream - the serialized object input stream, must not be null

Returns:

the deserialized object

Throws:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if inputStream is null

SerializationException - (runtime) if the serialization fails

deserialize

public static <T> T deserialize(byte[] objectData)

Deserializes a single Object from an array of bytes.

If the call site incorrectly types the return value, a ClassCastException is thrown from the call site. Without Generics in this declaration, the call site must type cast and can cause the same ClassCastException. Note that in both cases, the ClassCastException is in the call site, not in this method.

Type Parameters:

T - the object type to be deserialized

Parameters:

objectData - the serialized object, must not be null

Returns:

the deserialized object

Throws:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if objectData is null

SerializationException - (runtime) if the serialization fails