Develop Reference

XmlSerlializer is not serializing all properties of a class

I wrote a generic method for Object to XML string using XMLSerializer class.
Below is my class
public class SampleJson
{
public string fname { get; set; }
public string lname { get; set; }
public int age { get; set; }
public AdditionalInformation AdditionalInformation { get; set; }
}
public class AdditionalInformation
{
public string firstlane { get; set; }
public string secondlane { get; set; }
public decimal? cityCode { get; set; }
public int? countryCode { get; set; }
public bool? isValid { get; set; }
public DateTime enteredDate { get; set; }
}
And below is Generic Method
public class QAZ
{
public static string Foo<T>(T dataToSerialize)
{
var stringWriter = new StringWriter();
XmlTextWriter xmlTextWriter = null;
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(dataToSerialize.GetType());
xmlTextWriter = new XmlTextWriter(stringWriter);
serializer.Serialize(xmlTextWriter, dataToSerialize);
return stringWriter.ToString();
}
}
class Bar
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var sampleJson = typeof(SampleJson);
var fooMethod = typeof(QAZ).GetMethod("Foo");
var fooOfBarMethod = fooMethod.MakeGenericMethod(new[] {sampleJson});
string xml= fooOfBarMethod.Invoke(new QAZ(), new object[] {new SampleJson()}).ToString();
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
But I'm getting the output is
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
-<SampleJson xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<age>0</age>
</SampleJson>
I don't understand why XmlSerializer serializes only int property.
Can anyone please tell me the issue that I'm doing.
The main agenda here is I want to generate an xsd for SampleJson class. In order to do that I am trying to convert the class to xml. From xml to xsd. Is there a way to generate xsd from a class?

I think this might help you to understand better, I wrote an example please do like or dislike if it has or hasn't helped.
public class Vehicle
{
public string VRM;
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var Reg = new Vehicle { VRM = "LP65 UGT" };
var writer = new System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(typeof(Vehicle));
var wfile = new System.IO.StreamWriter(#"C:\Myexample\NewVehicle.xml");
writer.Serialize(wfile, Reg);
wfile.Close();
Console.WriteLine("Vehicle Reg is now written in xml format ");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
The above example will write successfully to XML file ensure you create the folder first on your C drive My example and then run the above to see the result for yourself and see if it can point you to the correct direction hopefully.

How to Serialize Object to Xml

The class I want to store:
[Serializable]
public class Storagee
{
int tabCount;
List<string> tabNames;
List<EachItemListHolder> eachItemsHolder;
public void PreSetting(int count, List<string> strings, List<EachItemListHolder> items)
{
tabCount = count;
tabNames = strings;
eachItemsHolder = items;
}
public void PreSetting(int count ) //debug purpose
{
tabCount = count;
}
public int GetTabCount() { return tabCount; }
public List<string> GetTabNames() { return tabNames; }
public List<EachItemListHolder> GetListEachItemListHolder() { return eachItemsHolder; }
}
Serializing class:
namespace Book
{
class SaveAndLoad
{
public void SaveAll(Storagee str)
{
var path = #"C:\Temp\myserializationtest.xml";
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create))
{
XmlSerializer xSer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Storagee));
xSer.Serialize(fs, str);
}
}
public Storagee LoadAll()
{
var path = #"C:\Temp\myserializationtest.xml";
using (FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open)) //double
{
XmlSerializer _xSer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Storagee));
var myObject = _xSer.Deserialize(fs);
return (Storagee)myObject;
}
}
}
}
Main method (Window form):
class Book
{
List<EachTab> eachTabs;
Storagee storagee;
SaveAndLoad saveAndLoad;
eachTabs = new List<EachTab>();
storagee = new Storagee();
saveAndLoad = new SaveAndLoad();
void Saving()
{
int count = UserTab.TabCount; // tab counts
storagee.PreSetting(count);
saveAndLoad.SaveAll(storagee);
}
}
It makes xml file but doesn't save data.
I tried the serializing code in different project and it worked.
but it doesn't in this solution
since I'm kind of new to coding I don't know what the problem is
especially serializing part.
serializing codes are copied and pasted with little tweak

It makes xml file but doesn't save data.
It doesn't save any data because your class does not provide any data that it can serialize. XmlSerializer only serializes public fields and properties and the Storagee class doesn't have any.
You could, for example, change your public getter methods to public properties:
public int TabCount { get; set; }
public List<string> TabNames { get; set; }
public List<string> EachItemsHolder { get; set; }
Alternatively, if using public properties is not an option, you could also look into using custom serialization by implementing IXmlSerializable.

De-/serialization with a list of objects

I try to save and read multiple objects in one XML-File.
The function Serialize is not working with my existing List, but i dont know why. I already tried to compile it but i get an error wich says, that the methode needs an object refference.
Program.cs:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
List<Cocktail> lstCocktails = new List<Cocktail>();
listCocktails.AddRange(new Cocktail[]
{
new Cocktail(1,"Test",true,true,
new Cocktail(1, "Test4", true, true, 0)
});
Serialize(lstCocktails);
}
public void Serialize(List<Cocktail> list)
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Cocktail>));
using (TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(#"C:\Users\user\Desktop\MapSample\bin\Debug\ListCocktail.xml"))
{
serializer.Serialize(writer, list);
}
}
private void DiserializeFunc()
{
var myDeserializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Cocktail>));
using (var myFileStream = new FileStream(#"C:\Users\user\Desktop\MapSample\bin\Debug\ListCocktail.xml", FileMode.Open))
{
ListCocktails = (List<Cocktail>)myDeserializer.Deserialize(myFileStream);
}
}
Cocktail.cs:
[Serializable()]
[XmlRoot("locations")]
public class Cocktail
{
[XmlElement("id")]
public int CocktailID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("name")]
public string CocktailName { get; set; }
[XmlElement("alc")]
public bool alcohol { get; set; }
[XmlElement("visible")]
public bool is_visible { get; set; }
[XmlElement("counter")]
public int counter { get; set; }
private XmlSerializer ser;
public Cocktail() {
ser = new XmlSerializer(this.GetType());
}
public Cocktail(int id, string name, bool alc,bool vis,int count)
{
this.CocktailID = id;
this.CocktailName = name;
this.alcohol = alc;
this.is_visible = vis;
this.counter = count;
}
}
}
Ii also think I messed something up with the DiserializeFunc().

You are very close to implementing the Cocktail class correctly, but I think you're confused about how to serialize Lists. Your implementation of a Cocktail object class is completely fine, just get rid of the list related functions.
using System;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
namespace Serialization_Help
{
[Serializable()]
[XmlRoot("locations")]
public class Cocktail
{
[XmlElement("id")]
public int CocktailID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("name")]
public string CocktailName { get; set; }
[XmlElement("alc")]
public bool alcohol { get; set; }
[XmlElement("visible")]
public bool is_visible { get; set; }
[XmlElement("counter")]
public int counter { get; set; }
public Cocktail() {
}
public Cocktail(int id, string name, bool alc, bool vis, int count)
{
this.CocktailID = id;
this.CocktailName = name;
this.alcohol = alc;
this.is_visible = vis;
this.counter = count;
}
}
}
Now in your new function you want to serialize the list directly.
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
namespace Serialization_Help
{
class Program {
static void Main(string[] args) {
List<Cocktail> list = new List<Cocktail> {
new Cocktail(01, "rum and coke", true, true, 5),
new Cocktail(02, "water on the rocks", false, true, 3)
};
Serialize(list);
List<Cocktail> deserialized = DiserializeFunc();
}
public static void Serialize(List<Cocktail> list) {
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Cocktail>));
using (TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() + #"\ListCocktail.xml")) serializer.Serialize(writer, list);
}
private static List<Cocktail> DiserializeFunc() {
var myDeserializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<Cocktail>));
using (var myFileStream = new FileStream(Directory.GetCurrentDirectory() + #"\ListCocktail.xml", FileMode.Open)) return (List<Cocktail>)myDeserializer.Deserialize(myFileStream);
}
}
}
Doing so should correctly print out the following .xml output:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ArrayOfCocktail xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<Cocktail>
<id>1</id>
<name>rum and coke</name>
<alc>true</alc>
<visible>true</visible>
<counter>5</counter>
</Cocktail>
<Cocktail>
<id>2</id>
<name>water on the rocks</name>
<alc>false</alc>
<visible>true</visible>
<counter>3</counter>
</Cocktail>
</ArrayOfCocktail>
Keep in mind that I have not provided implementation of any of the standard safety or null checks for the file. You'll have to check if the file exists yourself by using File.Exists(...) (see here for File.Exists implementation) and implement the correct try and catch cases and what your code will chose to do if it runs into serialization or input/outut errors.

You'd better use ExtendedXmlSerializer to serialize and deserialize.
Instalation
You can install ExtendedXmlSerializer from nuget or run the following command:
Install-Package ExtendedXmlSerializer
Serialization:
ExtendedXmlSerializer serializer = new ExtendedXmlSerializer();
var list = new List<Cocktail>();
var xml = serializer.Serialize(list);
Deserialization
var list = serializer.Deserialize<List<Cocktail>>(xml);
Standard XML Serializer in .NET is very limited.
Does not support serialization of class with circular reference or class with interface property,
Does not support Dictionaries,
There is no mechanism for reading the old version of XML,
If you want create custom serializer, your class must inherit from IXmlSerializable. This means that your class will not be a POCO class,
Does not support IoC.
ExtendedXmlSerializer can do this and much more.
ExtendedXmlSerializer support .NET 4.5 or higher and .NET Core. You can integrate it with WebApi and AspCore.

C# XML Deserialization of array

I have a problem about deserialize an array. Becouse array elements can be of various types. You can see the example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><export xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://zakupki.gov.ru/oos/export/1" xmlns:oos="http://zakupki.gov.ru/oos/types/1">
<notificationZK>
... item 1 data
</notificationZK>
<notificationZK>
... item 2 data
</notificationZK>
<notificationFF>
... item 3 data
</notificationFF>
</export>
All elements extends notificationType
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIncludeAttribute(typeof(notificationSZType))]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIncludeAttribute(typeof(notificationPOType))]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIncludeAttribute(typeof(notificationZKType))]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIncludeAttribute(typeof(notificationEFType))]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlIncludeAttribute(typeof(notificationOKType))]
public partial class notificationType
{
...
So the question is how can I get the collection of notificationType elements from my XML file? I think I cant do something like
[Serializable()]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlRoot("export")]
public class NotificationCollection
{
[XmlArray("")] // ???? what I need write here?
[XmlArrayItem("", typeof(notificationType))] // ??? and here?
public notificationType[] notification { get; set; }
}
Regards!
ADDED-------------
So. I make this:
[Serializable()]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlRoot("export")]
public class NotificationCollection
{
[XmlElement("notificationSZType", Type = typeof(notificationSZType))]
[XmlElement("notificationPOType", Type = typeof(notificationPOType))]
[XmlElement("notificationZKType", Type = typeof(notificationZKType))]
[XmlElement("notificationEFType", Type = typeof(notificationEFType))]
[XmlElement("notificationOKType", Type = typeof(notificationOKType))]
public notificationType[] notification { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
NotificationCollection collection = null;
string path = #"E:\notification.xml";
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(notificationType));
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(path);
collection = (NotificationCollection) serializer.Deserialize(reader);
reader.Close();
}
}
but have System.InvalidOperationException was unhandled while serializer.Deserialize(reader);
Message=<export xmlns='http://zakupki.gov.ru/oos/export/1'> not expected.
What im doing wrong?

How about moving the type declarations into the collection?
[XmlRoot("export")]
public class NotificationCollection
{
[XmlElement("notificationZK", typeof(NotificationTypeZK))]
[XmlElement("notificationFF", typeof(NotificationTypeFF))]
public List<NotificationType> Notifications { get; set; }
}
public class NotificationType
{
}
public class NotificationTypeZK : NotificationType { }
public class NotificationTypeFF : NotificationType { }
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var data = #"<export><notificationZK /><notificationZK /><notificationFF /></export>";
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(NotificationCollection));
using (var reader = new StringReader(data))
{
var notifications = serializer.Deserialize(reader);
}
}

This should do the job
[Serializable()]
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlRoot("export")]
public class NotificationCollection
{
[XmlElement("notificationSZType", Type = typeof(notificationSZType))]
[XmlElement("notificationPOType", Type = typeof(notificationPOType))]
[XmlElement("notificationZKType", Type = typeof(notificationZKType))]
[XmlElement("notificationEFType", Type = typeof(notificationEFType))]
[XmlElement("notificationOKType", Type = typeof(notificationOKType))]
public notificationType[] notification { get; set; }
}

This question is interesting for me as well. I wrote the simplified app to achieve what you ask for:
[Serializable]
[XmlInclude(typeof(ItemA))]
[XmlInclude(typeof(ItemB))]
public class BaseItem
{
public bool Value { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class ItemA : BaseItem
{
public string Text { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class ItemB : BaseItem
{
public int Number { get; set; }
}
[Serializable]
public class ItemsArray
{
public BaseItem[] Items { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var array = new ItemsArray
{
Items = new BaseItem[]
{
new ItemA { Value = true, Text = "Test" },
new ItemB { Value = false, Number = 7 }
}
};
ItemsArray output;
using (var stream = new MemoryStream())
{
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(ItemsArray));
serializer.Serialize(stream, array);
stream.Position = 0;
output = (ItemsArray)serializer.Deserialize(stream);
}
}
}
After deserialization we get exactly what we serialized. The XML inside stream looks like:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<ItemsArray xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<Items>
<BaseItem xsi:type="ItemA">
<Value>true</Value>
<Text>Test</Text>
</BaseItem>
<BaseItem xsi:type="ItemB">
<Value>false</Value>
<Number>7</Number>
</BaseItem>
</Items>
</ItemsArray>
As was mentioned in other answer, you can't use different tags inside XML array. However, it's still possible to store different types. Serializer does this by using xsi:type attribute.
In order to solve your problem you probably need to use a bit another scheme of XML.

Problem with serializing a dictionary wrapper

I defined two classes. First one...
[Serializable]
public class LocalizationEntry
{
public LocalizationEntry()
{
this.CatalogName = string.Empty;
this.Identifier = string.Empty;
this.Translation = new Dictionary<string, string>();
this.TranslationsList = new List<Translation>();
}
public string CatalogName
{
get;
set;
}
public string Identifier
{
get;
set;
}
[XmlIgnore]
public Dictionary<string, string> Translation
{
get;
set;
}
[XmlArray(ElementName = "Translations")]
public List<Translation> TranslationsList
{
get
{
var list = new List<Translation>();
foreach (var item in this.Translation)
{
list.Add(new Translation(item.Key, item.Value));
}
return list;
}
set
{
foreach (var item in value)
{
this.Translation.Add(item.Language, item.Text);
}
}
}
}
...where public List<Translation> TranslationsList is a wrapper for non-serializable public Dictionary<string, string> Translation.
Pair of key and value is defined as follows:
[Serializable]
public class Translation
{
[XmlAttribute(AttributeName = "lang")]
public string Language
{
get;
set;
}
[XmlText]
public string Text
{
get;
set;
}
public Translation()
{
}
public Translation(string language, string translation)
{
this.Language = language;
this.Text = translation;
}
}
At last code used to serialize:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
LocalizationEntry entry = new LocalizationEntry()
{
CatalogName = "Catalog",
Identifier = "Id",
};
entry.Translation.Add("PL", "jabłko");
entry.Translation.Add("EN", "apple");
entry.Translation.Add("DE", "apfel");
using (FileStream stream = File.Open(#"C:\entry.xml", FileMode.Create))
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(LocalizationEntry));
serializer.Serialize(stream, entry);
}
LocalizationEntry deserializedEntry;
using (FileStream stream = File.Open(#"C:\entry.xml", FileMode.Open))
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(LocalizationEntry));
deserializedEntry = (LocalizationEntry)serializer.Deserialize(stream);
}
}
The problem is that after deserialization deserializedEntry.TranslationsList is empty. I set a breakpoint at setter of LocalizationEntry.TransalionsList and it comes from deserializer empty as well. Product of serialization is of course valid. Is there any gap in my code?
EDIT:
Here is generated XML:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<LocalizationEntry xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<CatalogName>Catalog</CatalogName>
<Identifier>Id</Identifier>
<Translations>
<Translation lang="PL">jabłko</Translation>
<Translation lang="EN">apple</Translation>
<Translation lang="DE">apfel</Translation>
</Translations>
</LocalizationEntry>

The problem is that your TranslationList property is not being set by the Xml Deserializer. The set method will be hit but only by the call to this.TranslationsList = new List(); in the LocalisationEntry constructor. I'm not yet sure why but I suspect it's because it doesn't know how to convert an array of Translation objects back into a List.
I added the following code and it worked fine:
[XmlArray(ElementName = "Translations")]
public Translation[] TranslationArray
{
get
{
return TranslationsList.ToArray();
}
set
{
TranslationsList = new List<Translation>(value);
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public List<Translation> TranslationsList
....

I am guessing the problem has to do with this:
public List<Translation> TranslationsList
The get/set operators are designed only for something to get or assign a fully-formed list. If you tried to use this in your own code, for example, every time you would do something like
TranslationsList.Add(item)
It would just create a new list from the existing dictionary and not actually deal with your item. I bet the deserializer works much the same way: uses set to create the new object once, then uses get as it adds each item from the XML. Since all that happens in get is it copies from the dictionary (which is empty when you begin your deserialization) you end up with nothing.
Try replacing this with just a field:
public List<Translation> TranslationsList;
and then explicitly call the code to copy the dictionary to this list before you serialize, and copy it from this list to the dictionary after you deserialize. Assuming that works, you can probably figure out a more seamless way to implement what you're trying to do.

I've created a sample, which will allow you to avoid the unnecessary hidden property when using the XmlSerializer:
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
LocalizationEntry entry = new LocalizationEntry()
{
CatalogName = "Catalog",
Identifier = "Id",
Translations =
{
{ "PL", "jabłko" },
{ "EN", "apple" },
{ "DE", "apfel" }
}
};
using (MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream())
{
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(LocalizationEntry));
serializer.Serialize(stream, entry);
stream.Seek(0, SeekOrigin.Begin);
LocalizationEntry deserializedEntry = (LocalizationEntry)serializer.Deserialize(stream);
serializer.Serialize(Console.Out, deserializedEntry);
}
}
}
public class LocalizationEntry
{
public LocalizationEntry() { this.Translations = new TranslationCollection(); }
public string CatalogName { get; set; }
public string Identifier { get; set; }
[XmlArrayItem]
public TranslationCollection Translations { get; private set; }
}
public class TranslationCollection
: Collection<Translation>
{
public TranslationCollection(params Translation[] items)
{
if (null != items)
{
foreach (Translation item in items)
{
this.Add(item);
}
}
}
public void Add(string language, string text)
{
this.Add(new Translation
{
Language = language,
Text = text
});
}
}
public class Translation
{
[XmlAttribute(AttributeName = "lang")]
public string Language { get; set; }
[XmlText]
public string Text { get; set; }
}
There are some drawbacks when working with the XmlSerializer class itself. The .NET guidelines encourage you the not provide public-setters for collection-properties (like your translation list). But when you look at the code generated by the XmlSerializer, you'll see that it will use the Setter regardless of it is accessible. This results in a compile-error when the interim class is dynamically loaded by the XmlSerializer. The only way to avoid this, is to make the XmlSerializer think, that it can't actually create an instance of the list and thus won't try to call set for it. If the XmlSerializer detects that it can't create an instance it will throw an exception instead of using the Setter and the interim class is compiled successfully. I've used the param-keyword to trick the serializer into thinking that there is no default-constructor.
The only drawback from this solution is that you have to use a non-generic, non-interface type for the property (TranslationCollection) in my example.