Unmarshalling

/ʌnˈmɑrʃəlɪŋ/ noun

Definition

The process of extracting data from a message buffer and reconstructing it into a usable form for the receiving application.

Etymology

The 'un-' prefix indicates reversal of marshalling. This complementary process emerged with distributed computing in the 1970s-80s, as remote procedure calls needed both packing and unpacking of data across network boundaries.

Kelly Says

If marshalling is like packing a suitcase for travel, unmarshalling is like unpacking it at your destination - you take the neatly organized data package that arrived over the network and spread it back out into the memory locations where your program can actually use it!

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