data-serialization

what is a data serialization system?

according to Apache AVRO project, "Avro is a serialization system". By saying data serialization system, does it mean that avro is a product or api? also, I am not quit sure about what a data serialization system is? for now, my understanding is that it is a protocol that defines how data object is passed over the network. Can anyone he...

Why should you use XML CDATA blocks?

When creating XML I'm wondering why the CDATA blocks are uses rather than just escaping the data. Is there something allowed in a CDATA block that can't be escaped and placed in a regular tag? <node><![CDATA[ ...something... ]]></node> instead of <node>...something...</node> Naturally you would need to escape the data in either cas...