Does Java Serialization work for cyclic references?

Question

For example: Object A contains Object B that contains Object C that contains Object A.

Will Object A serialize properly?

Comment #9 here indicates that it d

Answer 1

You can actually view the referencing firsthand if you serialize your object to XML. The child objects are only serialized once. Any reference (anywhere in the serialized structure) to a child object that has already been serialized will simply point to that object in the file.

Serializing cyclic references can get a little messy, though, so you might want to avoid them if you can.