Serialization and de-serialization

[damskii9992]

Serialization to dictionary

To save/load a project it is necessary to be able to serialize objects into a format that can be saved on disk which can later again be de-serialized into the proper object. What format should be serialized into is very technique-dependent as different scientific fields use different formats (CIF for crystallography, ORSO for reflectometry, etc.).

To accommodate all the various needs of different techniques we have standardized the approach to serialization:

• All objects first serialize to / last de-serialize from a python dictionary using the to_dict and from_dict methods
• These dictionaries can then be re-serialized into other technique-specific formats such as CIF or ORSO
• The generic file-format for easyscience is JSON, as such its re-serializer is implemented in the core library
• Technique-specific (de)serialisers are imeplemented in the corresponding technique library
• (De)Serializers which are shared among multiple techniques (like CIF in diffraction and imaging) are implemented in a separate shared utility library

The core easyscience library

In the core library base classes (see easyscience/corelib#168) which all technique-library classes should inherit from, we have implemented generic to_dict and from_dict methods. These methods are responsible for serializing any easyscience object to a dictionary which can then be de-serialized from. The methods can be overwritten in technique-specific libraries to provide additional serialization functionality.

Link to the ADR suggestions:
easyscience/corelib#161