Serialization

In computer programming, serialization means to render a piece of data (such as an object) into a byte stream. Typically, this format is used for persistent storage, or for transmission to another program across a network. The serialized data is parsed by the receiving program to reconstruct an in-memory copy of the data.

Starting in the late 1990s, the XML standard has become a popular and widely supported means of data serialization into text. Because of it's flexible syntax, it is possible to represent a wide variety of data structures.