Serializable objects and a database thereof

Abstract

A technique to communicate data between two objects in a computing environment includes invoking a write method of a first object. A converter associated with a second object having a second format for storing the data is then invoked. The converter converts field values associated with first fields of the first object to the second format. The converted field values are then written into second fields of the second object.

1 . A method to communicate data between two objects in a computing environment, comprising:
 invoking a write method of a first object;   invoking a converter associated with a second object having a second format for storing the data, the converter to convert field values associated with first fields of the first object to the second format; and   writing the converted field values to second fields of the second object.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 setting a selected field from among the first fields of the first object to indicate that the selected field is to be converted; and   writing only the selected field from among the first fields to the second object.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first fields of the first object represent a subset of the total fields within the first object marked with one or more index values, the method further comprising:
 passing the one or more index values to the write method so as to indicate to the write method to only convert the field values of the first object marked with the one or more index values.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first object comprises a serializable object capable of being serialized into a flat contiguous memory structure. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the converter comprises a first converter, the method further comprising:
 invoking a read method of the first object;   invoking a second converter associated with a third object having a third format for storing the data, the second converter to convert field values associated with third fields of the third object to the first format; and   reading the field values associated with the third fields into the first fields of the first object via the second converter.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the converter comprises one of an Extensive Markup Language (“XML”) converter for converting to or from XML files, a network converter to serialize the data for communication over a network, a print converter for printing the data to a screen, or a database converter for storing the data into a database. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first object comprises one of a C, C++, or C# language object and the second object comprises a Java language object. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the converter comprises a file converter and the first object comprises a serializable object, the method further comprising:
 linking a second converter in series with the first converter between the serializable object and the second object.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein second converter comprises a encryption converter and the second object comprises an encrypted file. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first fields of the first object each include flags to indicate whether each of the first fields is “set”, “unset”, or “modified”. 
     
     
         11 . A computer-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, if executed by a computer, will cause the computer to perform operations comprising:
 invoking a write method of a first object;   invoking a converter associated with a second object having a second format for storing the data, the converter to convert field values associated with first fields of the first object to the second format; and   writing the converted field values to second fields of the second object.   
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , further providing instructions that, if executed by the computer, will cause the computer to perform further operations, comprising:
 setting a selected field from among the first fields of the first object to indicate that the selected field is to be converted; and   writing only the selected field from among the first fields to the second object.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first fields of the first object represent a subset of the total fields within the first object marked with one or more index values, the method further comprising:
 passing the one or more index values to the write method so as to indicate to the write method to only convert the field values of the first object marked with the one or more index values.   
     
     
         14 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first object comprises a serializable object capable of being serialized into a flat contiguous memory structure. 
     
     
         15 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the converter comprises a first converter, the method further comprising:
 invoking a read method of the first object;   invoking a second converter associated with a third object having a third format for storing the data, the second converter to convert field values associated with third fields of the third object to the first format; and   reading the field values associated with the third fields into the first fields of the first object via the second converter.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 14 , wherein the converter comprises one of an Extensive Markup Language (“XML”) converter for converting to or from XML files, a network converter to serialize the data for communication over a network, a print converter for printing the data to a screen, or a database converter for storing the data into a database. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first object comprises one of a C, C++, or C# language object and the second object comprises a Java language object. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the converter comprises a file converter and the first object comprises a serializable object, the method further comprising:
 linking a second converter in series with the first converter between the serializable object and the second object.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein second converter comprises a encryption converter and the second object comprises an encrypted file. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the first fields of the first object each include flags to indicate whether each of the first fields is “set”, “unset”, or “modified”.