Interface ITypeSerializer

Non-generic base interface for type serializers used by the Scylla serialization engine for runtime type resolution and registration.

Namespace: Scylla.Core.Util.Serialization

Assembly: ScyllaCore.dll

Syntax

public interface ITypeSerializer

Remarks

This interface exists primarily to allow heterogeneous collections of type serializers to be stored and retrieved by Type key at runtime without requiring generic type arguments at the call site. The engine resolves the correct serializer via GetSerializer(Type) and then calls WriteObject(object, IScyllaWriter, ISerializationContext) or ReadObject(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext).

Most application code should implement the strongly-typed ITypeSerializer<T> instead and register it through RegisterSerializer<T>(ITypeSerializer<T>) or RegisterSerializer<T>(ITypeSerializer<T>). The engine wraps it in a TypeSerializerAdapter<T> automatically, bridging to this non-generic interface.

Properties

TargetType

Gets the Type that this serializer is responsible for handling. The engine uses this value as the dictionary key when storing and retrieving serializers from its registry.

Declaration

Type TargetType { get; }

Property Value

Type	Description
Type	The exact Type this serializer handles. For TypeSerializerAdapter<T>, this is always `typeof(T)`.

Methods

ReadObject(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext)

Reads and reconstructs a value from reader using this serializer's format-specific decoding. This is the non-generic counterpart of Read(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext).

Declaration

object ReadObject(IScyllaReader reader, ISerializationContext context)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
IScyllaReader	reader	The format-specific reader positioned at the beginning of the serialized value. Must not be `null`.
ISerializationContext	context	The active serialization context providing settings, depth tracking, and reference tracking. Must not be `null`.

Returns

Type	Description
object	The deserialized value as a boxed object. May return `null` if the serialized data represents a null reference. The caller is responsible for casting the return value to the expected type.

WriteObject(object, IScyllaWriter, ISerializationContext)

Writes the supplied value to writer using this serializer's format-specific encoding. This is the non-generic counterpart of Write(T, IScyllaWriter, ISerializationContext).

Declaration

void WriteObject(object value, IScyllaWriter writer, ISerializationContext context)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
object	value	The object to serialize. May be `null` for reference types; the serializer implementation is responsible for emitting an appropriate null token in that case. When non-null the caller guarantees that the runtime type of `value` matches TargetType.
IScyllaWriter	writer	The format-specific writer that receives the serialized output (e.g., a JSON or binary stream). Must not be `null`.
ISerializationContext	context	The active serialization context, providing access to settings, depth tracking, and reference tracking for the ongoing operation. Must not be `null`.