serialVersionUID

[Angus Ferguson]

Why some classes ask me for

private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

thanks

[Henry Wong]

Angus Ferguson wrote:Why some classes ask me for

private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;

thanks

Well, no classes "ask" for the variable.

However, some IDE warns you that you have a serializable class without it. The theory behind it is .. if you don't provide it, the Java compiler will generate one based on a formula. And chances are, it will be too volatile, meaning it will change the value even though you don't care about the part that changes.

So... the theory is, if the programmer controls it, then the programmer can change it only when actually needed. This way, if the programmer changes an interim variable, the programmer can choose to not change the ID, and hence, the program will still be compatible with all the previously serialized files.... and of course, this is based on the assumption that the programmer knows what he/she is doing.

Henry