.NET in-built support for serialization

Serialization is the process of converting the state of an object into a form that can be persisted or transported. There are two separate mechanisms provided by the .NET class library: XmlSerializer and SoapFormatter/BinaryFormatter . Microsoft uses XmlSerializer for Web Services, and SoapFormatter/BinaryFormatter for remoting. Both are available for use in your own code. Binary serialization preserves type fidelity, which is useful for preserving the state of an object between different invocations of an application. Because XML is an open standard, it is an attractive choice for sharing data across the Web. SOAP is likewise an open standard, which makes it an attractive choice.

XML Serialization

XML Serialization is the process of serializing a .Net Object to the form of XML or from an XML to .Net Object. The primary purpose of XML serialization in the .NET Framework is to enable the conversion of XML documents and streams to common language runtime objects and vice versa. This is the process of converting an object into a form that can be readily transported. More on.... XML Serialization