How does serialization and deserialization work in Rust?

How does serialization and deserialization work in Rust?

In Rust, serialization is the process of converting data structures into a format that can be easily stored or transmitted, like JSON or binary. Deserialization is the reverse process, where you convert the serialized data back into a Rust data structure.

What libraries can I use for serialization in Rust?

You can use libraries like serde, which is the most popular choice for serialization and deserialization in Rust. It supports various formats, including JSON, YAML, and more.

Can you give me an example of using Serde for JSON serialization?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

use serde::{Serialize, Deserialize};

#[derive(Serialize, Deserialize)]
struct Person {
    name: String,
    age: u32,
}

fn main() {
    let person = Person { name: String::from("Alice"), age: 30 };
    let json = serde_json::to_string(&person).unwrap();
    println!("Serialized: {}", json);
}

What if I want to deserialize JSON back into a Rust struct?

You can use serde_json::from_str to deserialize JSON back into a Rust struct. Here's how:

let json_data = r#"{"name":"Alice","age":30}"#;
let person: Person = serde_json::from_str(json_data).unwrap();
println!("Deserialized: {:?}", person);