Comment by coldnebo

> you can represent anything

If you represent something, you need to interpret it later... i.e. both client and server need the same interpretation in order to avoid errors.

> Dates can be encoded as strings and so can most of the other more 'awkward' types.

You say 'encoding', I say 'serialization'.

> It's not that complicated

It isn't as long as you use the same platform for encoding and decoding.

Maybe our experiences are different. I remember one time I had to unencrypt a string in Ruby that had been encrypted in Java. I thought, this will be simple, it's a standard AES encryption, I'll just stuff the string into the corresponding Ruby object and decrypt! I mean, both of these objects were implemented according to the same industry standard right? Boy was that a learning experience. :) Framing, padding and seeding was not implemented the same way -- it was left as a platform implementation detail that only someone trying to integrate across systems would ever notice.