Serialization and deserialization in JS

Hello guys, sorry to disturb you; I currently learning about JSON and I came across the words serialization and deserialization... can someone explain in simple terms what is serialization and deserialization (giving examples if possible) and why is it important please.

glutonium•10/6/24, 7:59 AM

JSON is just a format for storing data
like it is a defined structured way you can store data that is easy to reas for both human and machine.

serialisation = convertion to formatted data structure (like json) for storing data

deserialisation = the opposite of serialisation

glutonium•10/6/24, 7:59 AM

there are other formats likewise to JSON like BSON ,EJSON

MarkBoots•10/6/24, 8:01 AM

I think the top answer of this question on Stack Overflow explains it the best
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3316762/what-is-deserialize-and-serialize-in-json

curiousmissfox•10/6/24, 8:05 AM

What everyone said above is correct, just wanted to add practical examples; that to convert , you use (serialization: convert JSON object into a string ) and (deserialisation: convert string back into a JSON object )

FakerOP•10/6/24, 9:44 AM

yeah I see, thanks !

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:49 PM

you need to be a little careful with what you serialize

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:49 PM

you can't serialize functions, for example

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:49 PM

this is because json, while based in javascript's object syntax, it isn't javascript

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:50 PM

and to serialize a function, you need to either convert it to a string that's then converted to the target language, or you would have to write an entire javscript interpreter alongside a json parser

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:51 PM

this is incredibly unsafe and nearly impossible to do

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ἔρως•10/6/24, 1:53 PM

there are other objects that need help to be converted, like maps (you can map an object instance to another object instance) and sets