code: def _val_to_store_info(self, val):
          
          if isinstance(val, str):
              return val, 0
          elif isinstance(val, int):
              return "%d" % val, Client._FLAG_INTEGER
          elif isinstance(val, long):
              return "%d" % val, Client._FLAG_LONG
          return pickle.dumps(val, protocol=pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL), Client._FLAG_PICKLE
docs: Transform val to a storable representation,
          returning a tuple of the flags, the length of the new value, and the new value itself.