# Serialization **Domain:** Information Architecture / Data Systems **Doc Type:** Technical Concept Node **Maturity:** Established **Related:** [[wiki/Observer Stack|Observer Stack]], [[wiki/Provenance|Provenance]], [[wiki/BCI Metadata|BCI Metadata]], [[wiki/Recoverability|Recoverability]] --- ## Definition **Serialization** converts structured state into an ordered representation that can be stored, transmitted, versioned, or reconstructed by another process. ## Continuity Context Serialization is not neutral. A schema decides which fields exist, how relationships are represented, what precision survives, and which context is discarded. A durable file can therefore remain physically intact while becoming semantically unrecoverable. ## Key Insight **A continuity archive must preserve both data and the contracts required to interpret that data later.**