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Game.Serialization.IPreDeserialize

Assembly: Assembly-CSharp.dll
Namespace: Game.Serialization

Type: interface

Base: (none)

Summary:
Defines a simple pre-deserialization hook. Types that implement IPreDeserialize receive a call to PreDeserialize(Context) before the serializer populates their fields. Use this to reset transient state, allocate or clear collections, register the object with managers, or perform lightweight migration/setup steps that must occur before field data is applied. The Context parameter (from Colossal.Serialization.Entities) provides serialization metadata and helpers (object reference resolution, versioning or custom serializer services).

Fields

  • (none)
    Implementers should not expect any fields declared by the interface. Use PreDeserialize to prepare instance fields as needed prior to deserialization.

Properties

  • (none)
    The interface does not declare any properties.

Constructors

  • (none)
    Interfaces do not define constructors. Initialization logic that must run before deserialization should be placed in PreDeserialize.

Methods

  • void PreDeserialize(Context context)
    Called by the serializer on objects that implement IPreDeserialize before the object's fields are deserialized. Typical responsibilities:
  • Reset or initialize transient fields and caches.
  • Allocate collections (List/Dictionary) so the serializer can populate them.
  • Register the instance with game systems/managers if needed prior to field population.
  • Perform lightweight migration based on context-provided version/metadata. Notes and guidance:
  • Keep the method fast and deterministic — it runs during the deserialization pipeline.
  • Prefer not to perform heavy UnityEngine operations that require main-thread-only resources unless you are certain the call occurs on the main thread.
  • Use Context helpers to inspect serialization metadata or resolve references when necessary.

Usage Example

using Colossal.Serialization.Entities;
using Game.Serialization;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class MySerializableData : IPreDeserialize
{
    // transient cache that should be reset before deserialization
    private List<int> _tempCache;

    public void PreDeserialize(Context context)
    {
        // Prepare transient fields so the serializer can populate or rely on them
        _tempCache = new List<int>();

        // Example: read metadata (pseudo-code; actual API depends on Context implementation)
        // if (context.TryGetMetadata("dataVersion", out int version)) { /* migrate if needed */ }
    }

    // ... other serialization members (fields/properties) ...
}