1 files changed, 33 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/netlib/basetypes.py b/netlib/basetypes.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d03246ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/netlib/basetypes.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import six
+import abc
+
+@six.add_metaclass(abc.ABCMeta)
+class Serializable(object):
+    """
+    Abstract Base Class that defines an API to save an object's state and restore it later on.
+    """
+
+    @classmethod
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def from_state(cls, state):
+        """
+        Create a new object from the given state.
+        """
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def get_state(self):
+        """
+        Retrieve object state.
+        """
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @abc.abstractmethod
+    def set_state(self, state):
+        """
+        Set object state to the given state.
+        """
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    def copy(self):
+        return self.from_state(self.get_state())