[creationix]

So you're saying that random access formats that are encoded to disk as a stream of bytes are not "serialized" because you don't alway read them in order?

Yes, many formats are read start-to-end, but I don't think that's a requirement. The important thing is it can be stored and transmitted as a stream of bytes. The word describes how it is transported and stored, not how it is read.

[Gormo]

> So you're saying that random access formats that are encoded to disk as a stream of bytes are not "serialized" because you don't alway read them in order?

Yes. That's precisely what "random access" means.

> The important thing is it can be stored and transmitted as a stream of bytes.

What isn't stored and transmitted as a stream of bytes? Memory itself is a sequential array of bytes. The criteria you're using here seem to be all-encompassing.

When we're talking about serial access to data, it means that we're sequentially parsing the stream of bytes from its starting point, rather than reading arbitrarily from any point in the stream that we desire.

[creationix]

I see. We have different definitions of serialized. The way I typically see it used is to describe how something is transmitted and stored, not how it is read.

Yes, by your definition, this is random and not serially read.