Serialize

Types implement Serialize separately from Archive. Serialize creates a resolver for some object, then Archive turns the value and that resolver into an archived type. Having a separate Serialize trait is necessary because although a type may have only one archived representation, you may have options of what requirements to meet in order to create one.

The Serialize trait is parameterized over the serializer. The serializer is just a mutable object that helps the type serialize itself. The most basic types like u32 or char don't bound their serializer type because they can serialize themselves with any kind of serializer. More complex types like Box and String require a serializer that implements Serializer, and even more complex types like Rc and Vec require a serializer that additionally implement SharedSerializeRegistry or ScratchSpace.

Unlike Serialize, Archive doesn't parameterize over the serializer used to make it. It shouldn't matter what serializer a resolver was made with, only that it's made correctly.

Serializer

rkyv provides serializers that provide all the functionality needed to serialize standard library types, as well as serializers that combine other serializers into a single object with all of the components' capabilities.

The provided serializers offer a wide range of strategies and capabilities, but most use cases will be best suited by AllocSerializer.

Many types require scratch space to serialize. This is some extra allocated space that they can use temporarily and return when they're done. For example, Vec might request scratch space to store the resolvers for its elements until it can serialize all of them. Requesting scratch space from the serializer allows scratch space to be reused many times, which reduces the number of slow memory allocations performed while serializing.