How do I serialize and deserialize std::optional in C++?

In this guide, we will explore how to serialize and deserialize `std::optional` in C++. Serialization refers to the process of converting data structures into a format that can be easily stored or transmitted. Deserialization is the reverse process of reconstructing the data structure from the serialized format.
C++, std::optional, serialization, deserialization, data structures, JSON, XML, code examples
// Example of serializing and deserializing std::optional in C++ #include #include #include // Assume we are using nlohmann/json library for JSON operations using json = nlohmann::json; // Function to serialize std::optional template json serialize(const std::optional& opt) { if (opt) { return json{{"value", *opt}}; } return json{{"value", nullptr}}; } // Function to deserialize std::optional template std::optional deserialize(const json& j) { if (j.contains("value") && !j["value"].is_null()) { return j["value"].get(); } return std::nullopt; } int main() { std::optional myValue = 42; // Serialize json j = serialize(myValue); std::cout << "Serialized: " << j << std::endl; // Deserialize auto deserializedValue = deserialize(j); if (deserializedValue) { std::cout << "Deserialized: " << *deserializedValue << std::endl; } else { std::cout << "Deserialized value is null" << std::endl; } return 0; }

C++ std::optional serialization deserialization data structures JSON XML code examples