Keywords: lib

## 3.14.2 Data stream format

The data format used by `pickle` is Python-specific. This has the advantage that there are no restrictions imposed by external standards such as XDR (which can't represent pointer sharing); however it means that non-Python programs may not be able to reconstruct pickled Python objects.

By default, the `pickle` data format uses a printable ASCII representation. This is slightly more voluminous than a binary representation. The big advantage of using printable ASCII (and of some other characteristics of `pickle`'s representation) is that for debugging or recovery purposes it is possible for a human to read the pickled file with a standard text editor.

A binary format, which is slightly more efficient, can be chosen by specifying a true value for the bin argument to the `Pickler` constructor or the `dump()` and `dumps()` functions.