--- /dev/null
+#ifndef PPAM_SERIALIZE_H
+#define PPAM_SERIALIZE_H
+
+#include <stdlib.h>
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+//main job: parse a text file into a binary compressed version
+void serialize_byCols(const char* ifileName, const char* ofileName, uint32_t nbItems);
+
+//serialize from usual 'by-row' data
+void serialize_byRows(const char* ifileName, const char* ofileName, uint32_t nbItems);
+
+#endif