Object Oriented Programming Questions Medium
The 'transient' keyword in Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is used to indicate that a variable should not be serialized when an object is being converted into a byte stream. Serialization is the process of converting an object into a format that can be stored or transmitted and then reconstructing it back into an object when needed.
When a variable is marked as 'transient', it means that its value does not need to be persisted or saved during serialization. This can be useful in scenarios where certain variables contain sensitive or unnecessary data that should not be included in the serialized object.
By using the 'transient' keyword, we can exclude specific variables from the serialization process, reducing the size of the serialized object and improving performance. When the object is deserialized, the transient variables will be assigned default values based on their data types.
It is important to note that the 'transient' keyword only applies to instance variables and not to static variables or methods. Additionally, it is only relevant in the context of serialization and does not have any impact on the behavior or functionality of the variable within the program itself.