Java: object to byte[] and byte[] to object converter (for Tokyo Cabinet)

public static byte[] serialize(Object obj) throws IOException {
    ByteArrayOutputStream out = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
    ObjectOutputStream os = new ObjectOutputStream(out);
    os.writeObject(obj);
    return out.toByteArray();
}
public static Object deserialize(byte[] data) throws IOException, ClassNotFoundException {
    ByteArrayInputStream in = new ByteArrayInputStream(data);
    ObjectInputStream is = new ObjectInputStream(in);
    return is.readObject();
}

Use serialize and deserialize methods in SerializationUtils from commons-lang.

If your class extends Serializable, you can write and read objects through a ByteArrayOutputStream, that's what I usually do.