What is the significance of using base64 encoding and decoding as a workaround for serialization issues in PHP?

When dealing with serialization issues in PHP, one common workaround is to use base64 encoding and decoding. This is because base64 encoding converts binary data into a text format that can be safely serialized and stored as a string. By encoding the data before serialization and decoding it after deserialization, we can prevent any issues related to special characters or binary data.

// Serialize data by base64 encoding
$data = base64_encode(serialize($originalData));

// Deserialize data by base64 decoding
$originalData = unserialize(base64_decode($data));