Serialize?

[unknowngiver]

Hey
Can anyone tell me the point of serializing stuff? i read about it and i know what it does [kinda] but i cant seem to figure out the point of it
for example..the tutorial that i was reading about serializing gave me this example:

[b]Before serialization: [/b]
"Almost at once the No. 37 Penpoint returned to the Featureless Expanse."
    An Inanimate Tragedy, Edward Gorey
[b]After serialization: [/b]
s:139:""Almost at once the No. 37 Penpoint returned to the Featureless Expanse."
    An Inanimate Tragedy, Edward Gorey";

So the only difference i see is that it adds "s:139" which is "type[string]:length[139]" and an extra quotation mark..and a ";" at the end
but whats the point of doing that? why and when would you serialize stuff?
Thanks

 

[mikesherov]

to store an associative array in a mysql database. For example, search parameters for a saved search.