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Java provides java.io.Serializable and java.lang.Cloneable in his standard library (and special support for it in the language and the JVM) for tasks around deserializing/serializing/cloning.
Has C# chosen a different path to provide this functionality, how does the implementation and code using it differ from Java and why was it done this way?
As an example, why does C# use both an attribute (annotation) and an interface for serialization?
.NET doesn’t use
ISerializableas just a marker interface. It acts not only as a marker, but also allows you to control exactly how .NET will serialize the class by implementingGetObjectDataand a constructor which takes the suitable arguments.The attribute is used when the class can be serialized, but you don’t want to define your own serialization behavior.
So: Use
ISerializablewhen you want to define your own serialization behavior; or use the[Serializable]attribute when you want to leave it up to the serialization formatter.Would I call it evolution? I don’t know. .NET is just offering you different degrees of flexibility.