How to Serialize and Deserialize C Classes with Custom Data Types?

Serialization for Classes with Custom Data Types in C

Problem Statement

You need to serialize and deserialize a class, Mango, containing members of custom data types. You want an efficient and portable implementation in terms of speed, memory usage, and cross-platform compatibility.

Suggested Approach

Serialization Function:

<code class="cpp">std::vector<uint8_t> serialize(Mango const&amp; Man);</code>

Returns a vector of bytes representing the serialized data.

Deserialization Function:

<code class="cpp">Mango deserialize(std::span<uint8_t const>&amp; data);</code>

Takes a span of bytes and returns a deserialized Mango object.

Implementation Details:

Define helper functions for generating the serialized data (do_generate) and parsing the deserialized data (do_parse). Customize these functions for each data type used in Mango and its nested classes.

Portability considerations:

• Use a header-only library like Boost Endian to normalize endianness across platforms.
• Define platform-specific macros if necessary for certain data types or system calls.

Code Example:

Provided in the referenced solution, the code includes helper functions for serializing and parsing custom data types.

Advantages:

• Custom serialization allows for efficient and flexible handling of complex data structures.
• Portability is ensured through platform-specific customizations.
• The suggested implementation is header-only, avoiding the need to link against additional libraries.

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