class HexaPDF::Serializer

Knows how to serialize Ruby objects for a PDF file.

For normal serialization purposes, the serialize or serialize_to_io methods should be used. However, if the type of the object to be serialized is known, a specialized serialization method like serialize_float can be used.

Additionally, an object for encrypting strings and streams while serializing can be set via the encrypter= method. The assigned object has to respond to encrypt_string(str, ind_obj) (where the string is part of the indirect object; returns the encrypted string) and encrypt_stream(stream) (returns a fiber that represents the encrypted stream).

How This Class Works¶ ↑

The main public interface consists of the serialize and serialize_to_io methods which accept an object and return its serialized form. During serialization of this object it is accessible by individual serialization methods via the @object instance variable (useful if the object is a composed object).

Internally, the __serialize method is used for invoking the correct serialization method based on the class of a given object. It is also used for serializing individual parts of a composed object.

Therefore the serializer contains one serialization method for each class it needs to serialize. The naming scheme of these methods is based on the class name: The full class name is converted to lowercase, the namespace separator ‘::’ is replaced with a single underscore and the string “serialize_” is then prepended.

Examples:

NilClass                 => serialize_nilclass
TrueClass                => serialize_trueclass
HexaPDF::Object          => serialize_hexapdf_object

If no serialization method for a specific class is found, the ancestors classes are tried.

See: PDF2.0 s7.3