Re: [boost] How do folks test serialization code?

Subject: Re: [boost] How do folks test serialization code?
From: John Maddock (john_at_[hidden])
Date: 2013-08-05 03:56:44

> Very good questions - in ten years no one has asked this.

Oh :-(

>> Title almost says it all, how do you verify that your classes
>> serialization code is truly platform independent,
>
> This would not apply to binary archives as these are not guarenteed to
> be portable.
>
> The case were archives are created on one platform and
> loaded on another is not explicitly tested.
>
>>and doesn't accidently break later?
>
> Hmmm I'm not sure how one could test that things aren't going
> to break later.

Allow me to explain - I've experimented with adding serialization support to 
Boost.Multiprecision - amounst other things this would allow those types to 
be used with MPI for massively parrellel applications (but I digress).

Now, binary archives are no issue, a simple loopback test is enough.

But since I know the internals of the classes are platform specific, I've 
had to come up with a serialization format (for cpp_int for example) which 
is platform independent.  Or at least I think it is.  I tend to assume that 
anything not tested doesn't work.  Maybe I'll just create some sample 
archives on 32 and 64 bit platforms and try reading them.

John.