transient is a Java keyword which marks a member variable not to be serialized when it is persisted to streams of bytes. When an object is transferred through the network, the object needs to be ‘serialized’. Serialization converts the object state to serial bytes. Those bytes are sent over the network and the object is recreated from those bytes. Member variables marked by the java transient keyword are not transferred; they are lost intentionally.
Syntax:
privatetransient<member-variable>; ortransientprivate<member-variable>;
For example:
public
class
Foo
implements
Serializable
{
private
String
saveMe
;
private
transient
String
dontSaveMe
;
private
transient
String
password
;
//...
}
See also:
- Java language specification reference: jls
- Serializable Interface. Serializable
