Implement map serialization and deserialization

You are given an in-memory map (dictionary) from strings to strings.

Implement two functions:

• string serialize(map<string, string> m)
• map<string, string> deserialize(string data)

Requirements:

• The serialization format must be invertible : deserializing the result of serialize(m) must always reconstruct the original map exactly.
• Keys and values are arbitrary strings and may contain spaces, punctuation, and characters that you might otherwise want to use as delimiters (e.g., : , , , ; , | , = ). You may assume they do not contain the null character "\0" .
• You may not use built-in serialization formats or libraries (e.g., no JSON, protobuf, or similar). You must design the encoding yourself.
• Aim for an efficient solution in both time and space for maps with up to, say, tens of thousands of key–value pairs.

Specify and implement:

1. The concrete string format you choose.
2. How serialize produces that format for a given map.
3. How deserialize parses that format back into the original map and handles edge cases (e.g., empty map, empty keys/values, special characters).
4. The time and space complexity of both functions.