Snapshot I/O

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Save and load world state with pluggable serialization backends.

Overview

Snapshots enable:

  • Save/Load: Persist world state to disk or memory
  • Checkpointing: Create restore points
  • Replay: Record and replay simulations
  • Migration: Version compatibility with post-load migrations

How It Works

Save Process

World State
    ↓
Serialize Components
    ↓
Write to Stream
    ↓
Snapshot File

Load Process

Snapshot File
    ↓
Read from Stream
    ↓
Deserialize Components
    ↓
Apply Migrations
    ↓
World State Restored

API Surface

Saving Snapshots

// Save to file
using var stream = File.Create("save.dat");
world.Save(stream);

// Save with custom formatter
world.Save(stream, new JsonComponentFormatter());

Loading Snapshots

// Load from file
using var stream = File.OpenRead("save.dat");
world.Load(stream);

// Load with migrations
world.Load(stream, migrations: myMigrations);

Examples

Basic Save/Load

using ZenECS.Core;

var world = kernel.CreateWorld(null, "GameWorld");

// Create entities using command buffer
Entity player;
using (var cmd = world.BeginWrite())
{
    player = cmd.CreateEntity();
    cmd.AddComponent(player, new Position(0, 0));
    cmd.AddComponent(player, new Health(100, 100));
}

// Save
using (var stream = File.Create("save.dat"))
{
    world.Save(stream);
}

// Load
using (var stream = File.OpenRead("save.dat"))
{
    world.Load(stream);
}

See Also

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