Interface ITypeSerializer<T>

Generic interface for custom type serialization handlers. Implement this interface to provide complete, type-safe control over how a specific type T is written to and read from a Scylla serialization format.

Namespace: Scylla.Core.Util.Serialization

Assembly: ScyllaCore.dll

Syntax

public interface ITypeSerializer<T>

Type Parameters

Name	Description
T	The type this serializer handles. Can be any reference type, value type, or interface. The serializer must be able to fully round-trip any valid instance of `T`.

Remarks

Custom type serializers bypass the reflection-based default serialization path entirely, giving full control over the wire format. This is the preferred extension point for:

Types that cannot be annotated with [ScyllaSerializable] (e.g., third-party or Unity types such as Vector3, Color, or Quaternion).
Types requiring a compact or non-standard wire representation for performance or compatibility reasons.
Types with constructor-only initialization patterns or private state that reflection cannot reach.

Register serializers globally via RegisterSerializer<T>(ITypeSerializer<T>), or limit them to a single operation via RegisterSerializer<T>(ITypeSerializer<T>). Per-operation registrations take priority over global ones when both exist for the same type.

When the engine needs to invoke the serializer at runtime it wraps it in a TypeSerializerAdapter<T>, which bridges the typed Write(T, IScyllaWriter, ISerializationContext) and Read(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext) methods to the non-generic ITypeSerializer interface used internally.

public class Vector3Serializer : ITypeSerializer<Vector3>
{
    public void Write(Vector3 value, IScyllaWriter writer, ISerializationContext context)
    {
        writer.WriteStartArray();
        writer.WriteFloat(value.x);
        writer.WriteFloat(value.y);
        writer.WriteFloat(value.z);
        writer.WriteEndArray();
    }
public Vector3 Read(IScyllaReader reader, ISerializationContext context)
{
    reader.ReadStartArray();
    var x = reader.ReadFloat();
    var y = reader.ReadFloat();
    var z = reader.ReadFloat();
    reader.ReadEndArray();
    return new Vector3(x, y, z);
}

}

Methods

Read(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext)

Reads and reconstructs a value of type T from reader.

Declaration

T Read(IScyllaReader reader, ISerializationContext context)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
IScyllaReader	reader	The format-specific reader positioned at the beginning of the serialized value for `T`. Must not be `null`. The implementation must consume exactly the tokens that Write(T, IScyllaWriter, ISerializationContext) produced so that the reader is positioned correctly for subsequent reads.
ISerializationContext	context	The active serialization context providing settings, depth tracking, and reference tracking. Must not be `null`.

Returns

Type	Description
T	The deserialized value of type `T`. May return the `default` value or `null` (for reference types) if the serialized data represents a null reference.

Declaration

void Write(T value, IScyllaWriter writer, ISerializationContext context)

Parameters

Type	Name	Description
T	value	The value to serialize. For reference types this may be `null`, and the implementation should emit an appropriate null token (e.g., call WriteNull()) rather than throw.
IScyllaWriter	writer	The format-specific writer that receives the serialized output. Must not be `null`. Use the structured write methods (e.g., WriteStartObject(), WritePropertyName(string)) to produce well-formed output that the corresponding Read(IScyllaReader, ISerializationContext) implementation can parse.
ISerializationContext	context	The active serialization context. Use PushDepth() and PopDepth() when recursively serializing nested objects, and consult ReferenceTracker when handling reference types that may participate in cycles. Must not be `null`.