.NET to Java serialization/deserialization compatibility

Question

Are there any compatibility issues to take care of when serailizing an object in .NET and then deserializing in Java?

I am facing problems in de-serializing an object in java which has been serialized in .NET

Here is the detailed problem statement:

In .NET platform i have a cookie. 1. Cookie is serialized 2. then it is encrypted using Triple DES algo. 3. Send it across to Java application

In Java platform 1. Decrypt the cookie using Triple DES which gives some bytes 2. Deserialize the bytes using something like

new ObjectInputStream( new ByteArrayInputStream(byte[] decryptedCookie)).readObject();

The exception stack trace I get is: java.io.StreamCorruptedException: invalid stream header: 2F774555 at java.io.ObjectInputStream.readStreamHeader(Unknown Source) at java.io.ObjectInputStream.(Unknown Source)

Answer 1

If you serialize in xml then you shouldnt face any problems de-serializing in java since at worse you have to write your own bit of code to reconstruct the objects.

Answer 2

The WOX serializer provides interoperable serialization for .Net and Java.

Answer 3

The way java and .Net serialise to binary differs. How does one know the objects of the other e.g. .Net will have Dictionaries and Java Maps? (plus the bnary representation of a string might differ.

You have to use some data format that both understand and code to do the object mappings. Thus the above answers mentioning XML and WOX. I have worked with internal company produces as well.