1. A data processing system, comprising: a processor; and data storage coupled to the processor, wherein the data storage includes program code that, when processed by the processor, causes the data processing system to perform: utilizing a full serialization process, serializing, by a serialization engine, a mutable object into binary format, wherein the mutable object includes (1) primitive data of one or more primitive fields of the mutable object, (2) metadata describing one or more classes referenced by the mutable object, and (3) a serialization change field indicating whether or not the primitive data of the mutable object has changed since last serialized; the serialization engine caching, in the binary format, serialized primitive data and serialized metadata regarding the mutable object obtained from the full serialization process, wherein the caching includes the serialization engine caching the serialized metadata in a metadata cache and the serialization engine caching the serialized primitive data in a primitive data cache separate from the metadata cache; thereafter: the serialization engine again serializing the mutable object, wherein again serializing the mutable object includes: only in response to the serialization engine field indicating that the primitive data of the mutable object has not changed since last serialized, the serialization engine again serializing the mutable object utilizing an abbreviated serialization process by reference to the cached serialized primitive data and the cached serialized metadata, wherein again serializing the mutable object utilizing the abbreviated serialization process includes the serialization engine accessing the cached serialized primitive data and the cached serialized metadata of the mutable object and writing the cached serialized primitive data and the cached serialized metadata of the mutable object in the binary format directly into an output stream; in response to the serialization change field indicating that the primitive data of the mutable object has changed since last serialized, the serialization engine again serializing the mutable object utilizing the full serialization process; and communicating the mutable object as again serialized to a distributed code element.