basic serialization and deserialization

dataset.py

-import utils
-import logging
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 
 
@@ -17,6 +15,9 @@ class dataset_location:
     def is_valid(self) -> bool:
         return all(x is not None for x in vars(self).values())
 
+    def serialize(self):
+        return vars(self)
+
 
 class dataset:
     def __init__(
@@ -31,7 +32,18 @@ class dataset:
     def is_valid(self) -> bool:
         return (
             all(x is not None for x in vars(self).values())
-            and type(self.serve) is bool
+            and isinstance(self.serve, bool)
             and all(type(x) is dataset_location for x in self.locations)
             and all(x.is_valid() for x in self.locations)
         )
+
+    def serialize(self):
+        rd = dict(self.vars())
+        rd["locations"] = set(x.serialize() for x in self.locations)
+        return rd
+
+    def from_dict(the_dict):
+        locations = set(dataset_location(**x) for x in the_dict["locations"])
+        return dataset(
+            name=the_dict["name"], serve=the_dict["serve"], locations=locations
+        )