Generic XML parser for Poco Objects - c#

Currently I try to write a generic XML parser and having trouble to write a generic Parser Class.
My current Parser:
public class XmlFileLoader
{
public T GetDeserializedData<T>(Type targetType, string rootElementName, string filename)
where T: class
{
XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader(GetPath(filename));
reader.Read();
doc.Load(reader);
T result = DatabaseXmlSerializer.DeserializeXmlString<T>(doc.InnerXml, rootElementName, targetType);
return result;
}
}
My Deserializer:
public static class DatabaseXmlSerializer
{
public static T DeserializeXmlString<T>(string XmlString, string RootElementName , Type TargetType)
{
T tempObject = default;
using (MemoryStream memoryStream = new MemoryStream(StringToUTF8ByteArray(XmlString)))
{
XmlRootAttribute xRoot = new XmlRootAttribute();
xRoot.ElementName = RootElementName;
xRoot.IsNullable = true;
XmlSerializer xs = new XmlSerializer(TargetType, xRoot);
XmlTextWriter xmlTextWriter = new XmlTextWriter(memoryStream, Encoding.UTF8);
tempObject = (T)xs.Deserialize(memoryStream);
}
return tempObject;
}
}
My call:
var loader= new XmlFileLoader();
var books = loader.GetDeserializedData<List<MySolution.Book>>(typeof(List<MySolution.Book>), "Bookstore", "Books.xml");
What is my concern?
I have to pass the type twice, but somehow i can't figure out how to just write it with one type.
I want my call to be like this:
var loader= new XmlFileLoader();
var books = loader.GetDeserializedData<List<MySolution.Book>>("Bookstore", "Books.xml");

There are so many errors in your code that I don't know what to do.
It's easier to rewrite the code completely.
public class XmlFileLoader
{
public T GetData<T>(string rootElementName, string filename)
{
var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T),
new XmlRootAttribute(rootElementName));
using (var xmlReader = XmlReader.Create(filename))
return (T)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(xmlReader);
}
}
This is the whole code!
Use it:
var xmlFileLoader = new XmlFileLoader();
var someModel = xmlFileLoader.GetData<SomeModel>("root", "filename");
The deserialization code is so simple that you can just throw out this class and just use XmlSerializer directly where you need it.
However, there is a serious problem when using XmlRootAttribute: multiple versions of the same assembly are generated and never unloaded, which results in a memory leak and poor performance. See documentation: Dynamically Generated Assemblies.
Therefore, it makes sense to cache serializer instances inside our class. Then its presence becomes justified.
public class XmlFileLoader
{
private static readonly Dictionary<(Type, string), XmlSerializer> serializers
= new Dictionary<(Type, string), XmlSerializer>();
public T GetData<T>(string rootElementName, string filename)
{
var key = (typeof(T), rootElementName);
if (!serializers.TryGetValue(key, out XmlSerializer xmlSerializer))
{
xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T),
new XmlRootAttribute(rootElementName));
serializers.Add(key, xmlSerializer);
}
using (var xmlReader = XmlReader.Create(filename))
return (T)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(xmlReader);
}
}

Related

Generic Interface for deserializing and returning XML objects [duplicate]

When using XML serialization in C#, I use code like this:
public MyObject LoadData()
{
XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyObject));
using (TextReader reader = new StreamReader(settingsFileName))
{
return (MyObject)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(reader);
}
}
(and similar code for deserialization).
It requires casting and is not really nice. Is there a way, directly in .NET Framework, to use generics with serialization? That is to say to write something like:
public MyObject LoadData()
{
// Generics here.
XmlSerializer<MyObject> xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer();
using (TextReader reader = new StreamReader(settingsFileName))
{
// No casts nevermore.
return xmlSerializer.Deserialize(reader);
}
}
An addition to #Oded, you can make the method Generic aswell:
public T ConvertXml<T>(string xml)
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serializer.Deserialize(new StringReader(xml));
}
This way you don't need to make the whole class generic and you can use it like this:
var result = ConvertXml<MyObject>(source);
Make your serialization class/method generic:
public T LoadData<T>()
{
XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
using (TextReader reader = new StreamReader(settingsFileName))
{
return (T)xmlSerializer.Deserialize(reader);
}
}
A simple generic wrapper:
public class GenericSerializer<T> : XmlSerializer
{
public GenericSerializer(): base(typeof(T)) { }
}
This will serialize your object to the bin/debug folder:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Person p = new Person { Name = "HelloWorld" };
GenericSerializer<Person> ser = new GenericSerializer<Person>();
ser.Serialize(new StreamWriter("person.xml"), p);
}
Try this.
public class SerializeConfig<T> where T : class
{
public static void Serialize(string path, T type)
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(type.GetType());
using (var writer = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create))
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, type);
}
}
public static T DeSerialize(string path)
{
T type;
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
using (var reader = XmlReader.Create(path))
{
type = serializer.Deserialize(reader) as T;
}
return type;
}
}
always work's for me
public static string ObjectToXmlSerialize<T>(T dataToSerialize)
{
try
{
var stringwriter = new System.IO.StringWriter();
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
serializer.Serialize(stringwriter, dataToSerialize);
return stringwriter.ToString();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
return null;
}
and this is for Deserialize:
public static T XmlDeserializeToObject<T>(string xmlText)
{
try
{
var stringReader = new System.IO.StringReader(xmlText);
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serializer.Deserialize(stringReader);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
return default(T);
}

Create a method that deserializes a serialized object.

I would like to create a method that Deserializes a serialized class.
Codes:
Settings newSettings = new Settings(); //Settings is a class.
Settings lastSettings = new Settings();
private void LoadXML(Type type,string filepath)
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(type);
FileStream fs = File.Open(filepath,FileMode.Open);
Settings newset = (Settings)serializer.Deserialize(fs); //Deserializes a serializable class file.
newSettings = newset; //Sets these settings as NewSettings
lastSettings = newSettingsXML; //Before form opening, sets information into form.
fs.Close();
}
Now i want to do these with a method. I created also different method for "Person" Class. This method reads person from xml file and sets these person into the form.
private void PersonFromXML(string filepath)
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(BindingList<Person>));
FileStream fs = File.Open(filepath,FileMode.Open);
BindingList<Person> XML_Person = (BindingList<Person>)serializer.Deserialize(fs);
NEW_XML_Person = XML_Person; // These are BindingList<Person>.
fs.Close();
Grid_Person.DataSource = XML_Person;
}
I want to do these Deserializing methods as one different Method. I want to write this method into a dll file.
I tried to do these:
private BindingList<Type> FromXML(BindingList<Type> type,string filepath)
{
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(type));
FileStream fs = File.Open(filepath,FileMode.Open);
BindingList<Type> BL = (type)ser.Deserialize(fs);
fs.Close();
return BL;
}
But it did NOT work. Because i could not set BindingList type as Person.. What should I do ? Thanks.
Seems that you forgot to set your generic type parameter on your method declaration.
Try this:
public static class MySerializationHelper
{
public static class From
{
public TReturn XMLFile<TReturn>(string contents)
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(TReturn));
var fs = File.Open(filePath, FileMode.Open);
var result = (TReturn)serializer.Deserialize(fs);
fs.Close();
return result;
}
}
public static class To
{
public void XMLFile<TType>(TType object, string filePath)
{
// Serialize it here...
}
}
}
Than, you may simply use it, like:
var bindingList = MySerializationHelper.From.XmlFile<IBindingList<Person>>("Persons.xml");
var person = MySerializationHelper.From.XmlFile<Person>("Person_1.xml");
MySerializationHelper.To.XmlFile<IBindingList<Person>>(bindingList, "Persons_copy.xml");
MySerializationHelper.To.XmlFile<Person>(person, "Person_1_Copy.xml");

C# XML Serialize object of Array object "There was an error generating the XML document."

I'm having a problem with the c# XML serialization system it's throws an Ambigus exception,
There was an error generating the XML document.
Now i have a Class that contains refferences to other classes and arrays of the other classes
E.G
namespace P2PFileLayout
{
public class p2pfile
{
public FileList FileList;
public StatusServer StatusServer;
public String Hash;
}
}
namespace P2PFileLayout.parts
{
public class StatusServer
{
public Auth Auth;
public Servers Servers;
}
public class Servers
{
public Server[] Server;
}
public class Server
{
public bool AuthRequired = false;
public string Address;
}
public class Files
{
public File[] File;
}
public class File
{
public string FileName = "";
public int BlockSize = 0;
public int BlockCount = 0;
}
public class Directory
{
public string Name;
public Files Files;
public Directory[] Dir;
}
public class Auth
{
public AuthServer[] AuthServer;
}
public class FileList
{
public Files Files;
public Directory[] Directory;
}
}
My Example data
// create the test file
testFile = new p2pfile();
// create a fake fileList
testFile.FileList = new P2PFileLayout.parts.FileList();
testFile.FileList.Directory = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Directory[1];
testFile.FileList.Directory[0] = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Directory();
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Name = "testFolder";
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Files();
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File = new P2PFileLayout.parts.File[2];
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[0] = new P2PFileLayout.parts.File();
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[0].FileName = "test.txt";
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[0].BlockSize = 64;
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[0].BlockCount = 1;
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[1] = new P2PFileLayout.parts.File();
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[1].FileName = "test2.txt";
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[1].BlockSize = 64;
testFile.FileList.Directory[0].Files.File[1].BlockCount = 1;
// create a fake status server
testFile.StatusServer = new P2PFileLayout.parts.StatusServer();
testFile.StatusServer.Servers = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Servers();
testFile.StatusServer.Servers.Server = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Server[1];
testFile.StatusServer.Servers.Server[0] = new P2PFileLayout.parts.Server();
testFile.StatusServer.Servers.Server[0].Address = "http://localhost:8088/list.php";
// create a file hash (real)
HashGenerator.P2PHash hashGen = new HashGenerator.P2PHash();
testFile.Hash = hashGen.getHash();
treeView1.Nodes.Add(new TreeNode("Loading..."));
Classes.CreateTreeView ctv = new Classes.CreateTreeView();
ctv.BuildTreeView(testFile.FileList, treeView1);
treeView1.AfterCheck += new TreeViewEventHandler(treeView1_AfterCheck);
Now that is not as complicated as mine in terms of dept as my i loop objects so dir has support for more dirs but thats just an example
Then i'm serializing to a string var as i want to do a little more than just serialize it but here is my serialization
private string ToXml(object Obj, System.Type ObjType)
{
// instansiate the xml serializer object
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(ObjType);
// create a memory stream for XMLTextWriter to use
MemoryStream memStream = new MemoryStream();
// create an XML writer using our memory stream
XmlTextWriter xmlWriter = new XmlTextWriter(memStream, Encoding.UTF8);
// write the object though the XML serializer method using the W3C namespaces
ser.Serialize(xmlWriter, Obj);
// close the XMLWriter
xmlWriter.Close();
// close the memoryStream
memStream.Close();
// get the string from the memory Stream
string xml = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(memStream.GetBuffer());
// remove the stuff before the xml code we care about
xml = xml.Substring(xml.IndexOf(Convert.ToChar(60)));
// clear any thing at the end of the elements we care about
xml = xml.Substring(0, (xml.LastIndexOf(Convert.ToChar(62)) + 1));
// return the XML string
return xml;
}
Can any one see why this is not working or any clues as to why it would not work normally
Why are you doing it manually?
What about this approach?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/815813
Test test = new Test() { Test1 = "1", Test2 = "3" };
System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer x = new System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(test.GetType());
MemoryStream ms = new MemoryStream();
x.Serialize(ms, test);
ms.Position = 0;
StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(ms);
string xml = sr.ReadToEnd();
As for the ambigous message, take a look into the inner exceptions. XML serialization errors use innerexception a lot, and you usually have to look to all levels of InnerExceptions to know what is really happening.

Xml Serialization without XML Declaration [duplicate]

How do I serialize an XML-serializable object to an XML fragment (no XML declaration nor namespace references in the root element)?
Here is a hack-ish way to do it without having to load the entire output string into an XmlDocument:
using System;
using System.Text;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
public class Example
{
public String Name { get; set; }
static void Main()
{
Example example = new Example { Name = "Foo" };
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Example));
XmlSerializerNamespaces emptyNamespace = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
emptyNamespace.Add(String.Empty, String.Empty);
StringBuilder output = new StringBuilder();
XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create(output,
new XmlWriterSettings { OmitXmlDeclaration = true });
serializer.Serialize(writer, example, emptyNamespace);
Console.WriteLine(output.ToString());
}
}
You should be able to just serialize like you usually do, and then use the Root property from the resulting document.
You may need to clear the attributes of the element first.
By the way this is awesome.
I implemented this code to make it easy to work with xml fragments as classes quickly and then you can just replace the node when finished. This makes the transition between code and xml ultra-easy.
First create some extension methods.
public static class SerializableFragmentExtensions
{
public static XElement ToElement(this ISerializableFragment iSerializableFragment)
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(iSerializableFragment.GetType());
var emptyNamespace = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
emptyNamespace.Add(String.Empty, String.Empty);
var output = new StringBuilder();
var writer = XmlWriter.Create(output,
new XmlWriterSettings { OmitXmlDeclaration = true });
serializer.Serialize(writer, iSerializableFragment, emptyNamespace);
return XElement.Parse(output.ToString(), LoadOptions.None);
}
public static T ToObject<T>(this XElement xElement)
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof (T));
var reader = xElement.CreateReader();
var obj = (T) serializer.Deserialize(reader);
return obj;
}
}
Next Implement the required interface (marker interface--I know you are not supposed to but I think this is the perfect reason to it.)
public interface ISerializableFragment
{
}
Now all you have to do is decorate any Serializable class, you want to convert to an XElement Fragment, with the interface.
[Serializable]
public class SomeSerializableClass : ISerializableFragment
{
[XmlAttribute]
public string SomeData { get; set; }
}
Finally test the code.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var someSerializableClassObj = new SomeSerializableClass() {SomeData = "Testing"};
var element = someSerializableClass.ToElement();
var backToSomeSerializableClassObj = element.ToObject<SomeSerializableClass>();
}
Thanks again for this amazingly useful code.

C# - Deserialize a List<String>

I can serialize a list really easy:
List<String> fieldsToNotCopy =new List<String> {"Iteration Path","Iteration ID"};
fieldsToNotCopy.SerializeObject("FieldsToNotMove.xml");
Now I need a method like this:
List<String> loadedList = new List<String();
loadedList.DeserializeObject("FieldsToNotMove.xml");
Is there such a method? Or am I going to need to create an XML reader and load it in that way?
EDIT: Turns out there is no built in SerialzeObject. I had made one earlier in my project and forgot about it. When I found it I thought it was built in. In case you are curious this is the SerializeObject that I made:
// Save an object out to the disk
public static void SerializeObject<T>(this T toSerialize, String filename)
{
XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(toSerialize.GetType());
TextWriter textWriter = new StreamWriter(filename);
xmlSerializer.Serialize(textWriter, toSerialize);
textWriter.Close();
}
There is no such builtin method as SerializeObject but it's not terribly difficult to code one up.
public void SerializeObject(this List<string> list, string fileName) {
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<string>));
using ( var stream = File.OpenWrite(fileName)) {
serializer.Serialize(stream, list);
}
}
And Deserialize
public void Deserialize(this List<string> list, string fileName) {
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<string>));
using ( var stream = File.OpenRead(fileName) ){
var other = (List<string>)(serializer.Deserialize(stream));
list.Clear();
list.AddRange(other);
}
}
These are my serialize/deserialize extension methods that work quite well
public static class SerializationExtensions
{
public static XElement Serialize(this object source)
{
try
{
var serializer = XmlSerializerFactory.GetSerializerFor(source.GetType());
var xdoc = new XDocument();
using (var writer = xdoc.CreateWriter())
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, source, new XmlSerializerNamespaces(new[] { new XmlQualifiedName("", "") }));
}
return (xdoc.Document != null) ? xdoc.Document.Root : new XElement("Error", "Document Missing");
}
catch (Exception x)
{
return new XElement("Error", x.ToString());
}
}
public static T Deserialize<T>(this XElement source) where T : class
{
try
{
var serializer = XmlSerializerFactory.GetSerializerFor(typeof(T));
return (T)serializer.Deserialize(source.CreateReader());
}
catch //(Exception x)
{
return null;
}
}
}
public static class XmlSerializerFactory
{
private static Dictionary<Type, XmlSerializer> serializers = new Dictionary<Type, XmlSerializer>();
public static XmlSerializer GetSerializerFor(Type typeOfT)
{
if (!serializers.ContainsKey(typeOfT))
{
System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine(string.Format("XmlSerializerFactory.GetSerializerFor(typeof({0}));", typeOfT));
var newSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeOfT);
serializers.Add(typeOfT, newSerializer);
}
return serializers[typeOfT];
}
}
You just need to define a type for your list and use it instead
public class StringList : List<String> { }
Oh, and you don't NEED the XmlSerializerFactory, it's just there since creating a serializer is slow, and if you use the same one over and over this speeds up your app.
I'm not sure whether this will help you but I have dome something which I believe to be similar to you.
//A list that holds my data
private List<Location> locationCollection = new List<Location>();
public bool Load()
{
//For debug purposes
Console.WriteLine("Loading Data");
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Location>));
FileStream fs = new FileStream("CurrencyData.xml", FileMode.Open);
locationCollection = (List<Location>)serializer.Deserialize(fs);
fs.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Data Loaded");
return true;
}
This allows me to deserialise all my data back into a List<> but i'd advise putting it in a try - catch block for safety. In fact just looking at this now is going to make me rewrite this in a "using" block too.
I hope this helps.
EDIT:
Apologies, just noticed you're trying to do it a different way but i'll leave my answer there anyway.
I was getting error while deserializing to object. The error was "There is an error in XML document (0, 0)". I have modified the Deserialize function originally written by #JaredPar to resolve this error. It may be useful to someone:
public static void Deserialize(this List<string> list, string fileName)
{
XmlRootAttribute xmlRoot = new XmlRootAttribute();
xmlRoot.ElementName = "YourRootElementName";
xmlRoot.IsNullable = true;
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<string>), xmlRoot);
using (var stream = File.OpenRead(fileName))
{
var other = (List<string>)(serializer.Deserialize(stream));
list.Clear();
list.AddRange(other);
}
}
Create a list of products be serialized
List<string> Products = new List<string>
{
new string("Product 1"),
new string("Product 2"),
new string("Product 3"),
new string("Product 4")
};
Serialization
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(#"C:\products.txt", FileMode.Create))
{
BinaryFormatter bf = new BinaryFormatter();
bf.Serialize(fs, Products);
}
Deserialization
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(#"C:\products.txt", FileMode.Open))
{
BinaryFormatter bf = new BinaryFormatter();
var productList = (List<string>)bf.Deserialize(fs);
}

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