How does Java's serialization work and when it should be used instead of some other persistence technique?

Question

I\'ve been lately trying to learn more and generally test Java\'s serialization for both work and personal projects and I must say that the more I know about it, the less I

Answer 1

I bumped into this dilemma about a month ago (see the question I asked).

The main lesson I learned from it is use Java serialization only when necessary and if there's no other option. Like Jon said, it has it's downfalls, while other serialization techniques are much easier, faster and more portable.