A Generic Serializer for Mobile Devices

In this paper we describe a serializer component completely realized in .NET managed code, able to run on a stripped versions of the .NET platform (e.g., COMPACT FRAMEWORK) and still generic enough to be used on .NET or other CLI compatible frameworks. Such a component is not normally provided with stock libraries in their compact version, since its implementation is quite tricky when relying on reduced reflection services. However, this component makes easier the development of distributed applications involving mobile devices and desktop computers or mainframes. Our implementation faced several problems ranging from lack of features in the base classes to the interframework portability problem, since the same object could have different implementation. The resulting product shows satisfactory performance figures and has a modular and flexible architecture. Copyright 2005 ACM.