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5.5 Compatible Java(tm) Type Evolution

In the Java(tm) Language Specification, Chapter 13 discusses binary compatibility of Java(tm) classes as those classes evolve. Most of the flexibility of binary compatibility comes from the use of late binding of symbolic references for the names of classes, interfaces, fields, methods, and so on.

The following are the principle aspects of the design for versioning of serialized object streams.

  • The required data consists of the fields of the object in the order defined by the class descriptor.
  • The optional data is written to the stream and does not correspond directly to fields of the class. The class itself is responsible for the length, types, and versioning of this optional information.


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