Basic Concepts in RDS

RDS (R Data Serialization):
- RDS is a binary serialization format in R used to save R objects to a file.
- It allows you to save and load R objects while preserving their class, attributes, and structure.
Serialization Functions:
- saveRDS() function in R is used to serialize an R object to a file.
- readRDS() function in R is used to deserialize and read the R object back into the R environment.
Saving and Loading Data: Use saveRDS() to save R objects to a file, and readRDS() to load them back into R.
Serialization of Different Data Types:
- RDS can serialize various data types, including vectors, lists, data frames, and more.
- It’s suitable for saving individual objects or entire datasets.
Alternative Formats:
- Besides RDS, other serialization formats like CSV, JSON, and Feather may be used based on specific requirements.
- Choose the format that best fits the use case in terms of performance, interoperability, and storage size.
Compressing Serialized Data: For large datasets, consider compressing serialized data to reduce file size. RDS supports compression using the “gzip” or “xz” compression algorithms.

Serialization: Serialization converts data objects into a specific format that is storable or transmissible. In R, this is often done using the saveRDS() function.
Deserialization: The reverse process, where using the readRDS() function, serialized data is converted back into its original R data structure.
RDS File Format: RDS files with extension .RDS are binary files that store serialized R objects. Compared to standard text formats like CSV, it is more space-efficient.

Data Serialization (RDS) using R

In this article, we can learn the Data Serialization using R. In R, one common serialization method is to use the RDS (R Data Serialization) format.