Question

The only socket programming I have done in the past is simple text streams. I am wondering what is the most effective way to send something like a Java object through a socket.

For instance if I have the following Employee class (Dependent would be a simple class composed of a dependent’s information):

public class Employee {
    private String name;
    private double salary;
    private ArrayList<Dependent> dependents;
}

Should I just make the Employee object Serializable and send instances through the socket. Or should I write up an xml file containing the Employees information and send that? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Or is there some completely different and better way? Thank you!

Answer 1

If you are only sending data betwen Java JVMs, then either choice is possible.

A textual representation (XML, JSON, or custom) has several advantages:

• it’s easier to make it interoperable between Java and other languages
• it’s less brittle in the face of version changes or slightly different versions of your code at each end of the socket
• it’s vastly easier to test and debug

Depending on the format, it may be a little slower, but this often not significant.