Julia: how stable are serialize () / deserialize ()

Question

I am considering using serialize () and deserialize () for all my I / O data because of their convenience. However, I do not want to get hung up on unreadable files in the Julia update.

How stable are serialize () and deserialize ()? Should they work between updates of 0.3? Can I expect safe behavior if I stick to basic types like Float64 arrays?

Thanks.

Answer 1

If you want to store data that may depend on your ability to read in the future, you should not use a format that will include violations if / when someone finds it useful. As far as I understand, the default serialization format is for network communications, so it is designed for maximum performance.

There is also an HDF5.jl package that uses a documented format and a common library with shells for different languages.

Answer 2

I believe that the official answer is: "people will try not to violate the serialization format, but you should not depend on it."