def encode_if_needed(value):
    if isinstance(value, str):
        value = value.encode('utf-8')
    return value


def decode_if_needed(value):
    if isinstance(value, (bytes, bytearray)):
        value = value.decode('utf-8')
    return value


def serialize_all(*args):
    return [encode_if_needed(a) for a in args]


def deserialize_all(*args):
    return [decode_if_needed(a) for a in args]