= HeuristicLab Persistence Quick Start Guide =

== Invocation ==
Use the classes `XmlGenerator` and `XmlParser` to transform an object graph into XML and read it back again. You can serialize into a file that is essentially a ZIP file with two entries or directly to a stream.

== Custom Classes ==
 * Add the `[StorableClass]` attribute to your class
 * Add the `[Storable]` attribute to any fields or properties you would like to be persisted 
 * Choose a constructor that is available to the persistence:
   * Either a default constructor with no arguments (can be private)
   * Or a `[StorableConstructor]` with a single bool argument (e.g. `isDeserializing`) that is set to true when invoked by the persistence

If you need more logic you can add a `[PersistenceHook]` attribute to parameterless methods that will be called before serialization starts or after serialization finishes for an object.

== Support for Other Classes ==
 * An `IPrimitiveSerializer` directly transforms an object and its components into serialized form. This is mainly used for primitive types such as int or float.
 * An `ICompositeSerializer` does not directly transform an object into serialized form but decomposes it into other objects that can then be used to recompose the same object.

== Other Formats ==
You can use the core persistence components to generate other formats. This is done through a stream of serialization tokens. The `Serializer` and `Deserializer` use classes of type `ISerializationToken` to talk to the back end. They describes a hierarchical format of composites that can contain other composites, primitives or references. Additionally, type information is conveyed in type information tokens.