I have an xml that looks like this:
<Config>
<A></A>
<Template><B/><C/></Template>
</Config>
and I would like to deserialize it in to get the <Template><B/><C/></Template> bit as a XmlElement or XmlNode. But when I try like this:
public class Config
{
public string A;
public XmlElement Template;
}
the Template is set to <B/> only. Any ideas?
Decorate your Template member with an XmlAnyElement attribute. That should do the trick.
Related
so I need to deserialize some XML files, I'm trying to rename a property attribute in the child classes.
The structure is very simples but I'm struggling on this. I already tried several examples but none works, hope someone can help me with this.
I have several XML files but the structure for all of them is the same:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<ClassNameHeader Version="0">
<ElementName attributes... />
<ElementName attributes... />
...
</ClassNameHeader>
Basically I have a root "ClassNameHeader" where ClassName is set for each child of RefXMLRoot, this acts as a base class so I can have like, i.e: Foo.xml (FooRefXML -> FooHeader, Bar.xml (BarRefXML -> BarHeader) and so on. Examples:
Foo.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<FooHeader Version="0">
<Foo attributes... />
<Foo attributes... />
...
</FooHeader>
Bar.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<BarHeader Version="0">
<Bar attributes... />
<Bar attributes... />
...
</BarHeader>
As you can see each XML has a different element name, that's why I need to change the XmlElement attribute name to match each file, like [XmlElements("Foo")] for Foo.xml or [XmlElements("Bar")] for Bar.xml and so on.
Base class structure:
public abstract class RefXMLRoot<RefElementType>
{
[XmlAttribute("Version")]
public Int32 Version{ get; set; }
[XmlElement]
public List<RefElementType> Elements { get; set; }
public RefXMLRoot()
{ }
}
Child class structure:
[XmlRoot("FooHeader", IsNullable = false)]
[XmlElementsOverride(ElementName = "Foos")] // This is the attribute that I'm using to store the Elements attribute name.
public class FooRef : RefXMLRoot<FooElement>
{
// Here is the tricky part
// I want to rename this Elements attribute name that is from base class
// using the ElementName passed to XmlElementsOverride
// So here would be like:
// [XmlElement("Foos")]
// public List<FooElement> Elements { get; set; }
public FooRef()
{ }
}
As I commented on code, I want to change the Elements XmlElement for each class, depending on what I pass to XmlElementsOverride.
I'm trying to do this with XmlAttributeOverrides when deserializing:
...
XmlReaderSettings xmlReaderSettings = new XmlReaderSettings();
xmlReaderSettings.IgnoreWhitespace = true;
xmlReaderSettings.IgnoreComments = true;
using (XmlReader xmlReader = XmlReader.Create(FilePath))
{
Type rootType = typeof(RefRootType);
XmlElementsOverrideAttribute elementsAttribute = rootType.GetCustomAttribute<XmlElementsOverrideAttribute>(true);
if (elementsAttribute != null)
{
// ElementName passed to XmlElementsOverride on Root class.
string elementsName = elementsAttribute.ElementName;
XmlAttributeOverrides xmlAttributeOverrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();
xmlAttributeOverrides.Add(typeof(RefRootType), "Elements", new XmlAttributes
{
XmlArray = new XmlArrayAttribute(elementsName),
XmlArrayItems = {
new XmlArrayItemAttribute(typeof(RefElementType))
}
});
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(RefRootType), xmlAttributeOverrides);
Root = (RefRootType)serializer.Deserialize(xmlReader);
}
}
...
RefRootType and RefElementType are both generic types passed to this class. RefRootType is RefXMLRoot child class and RefElementType is a RefXMLElement child class.
In resume, I just want to rename the Elements attribute name when deserializing my XMLs.
So, that's it, I'm out of options and I don't know if what I want to do is possible, but I think it is, I'm just missing something.
Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
I got it, finally!
The reason why the Elements property wasn't changing it's XmlElement attribute name is because I needed to add the override to the base class not the child, like I was doing.
So the solution is:
...
XmlAttributeOverrides xmlAttributeOverrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();
XmlAttributes xmlAttributes = new XmlAttributes();
xmlAttributes.XmlElements.Add(new XmlElementAttribute(elementsName, typeof(RefElementType)));
xmlAttributeOverrides.Add(typeof(RefXMLRoot<RefElementType>), "Elements", xmlAttributes);
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(RefRootType), xmlAttributeOverrides);
Root = (RefRootType)serializer.Deserialize(xmlReader);
...
The main change is at xmlAttributeOverrides.Add(typeof(RefXMLRoot<RefElementType>)... here I have to refer to my base class RefXMLRoot, where Elements property is, not the child RefRootType
Another important change was in xmlAttributes
xmlAttributes.XmlElements.Add(new XmlElementAttribute(elementsName, typeof(RefElementType)))
Changed typeof(List<RefElementType>) to typeof(RefElementType) and instead of xmlAttributes.XmlArray I used xmlAttributes.XmlElements, that makes sense since Elements property is a XmlElement.
I though that the Type passed to typeof was the same as my Elements (List<RefElementType>) but if you have a List<Type> and you want to change this List<> name you just need to pass the Type into the typeof.
So, that's it, if have any questions I'll be happy to answer.
I am trying to Deserialize an xml file that looks like the following
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Test xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/ConsoleApplication6">
<values>
<String>Value 1</String>
<String>Value 2</String>
</values>
</Test>
to an object that is this
[DataContract(Namespace = "http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/ConsoleApplication6")]
public class Test
{
[DataMember(Name = "values")]
public String[] values;
}
with
var ds = new DataContractSerializer(typeof(Test));
using (Stream stream1 = File.OpenRead(#"C:\Projects\test1.xml"))
{
Test rr = (Test)ds.ReadObject(stream1);
}
However none of the values are deserializing. I just see and empty array in Test rr. Could you please tell what I am doing wrong. Thanks in advance.
If you need fine control of the XML that is emitted when serializing, you should not use DataContractSerializer. It is has very limited flexibility. You would be better off using XmlSerializer, which has liimtitations as well, but is much more flexible than DataContractSerializer.
That being said, here is how you can do what you want with DataContractSerializer.
Change the default namespace on your xml to use the one that DataContractSerializeruses by default.
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<Test xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns="http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/">
<values>
<String>Value 1</String>
<String>Value 2</String>
</values>
</Test>
Instead of using string[] create your own custom type that derives from List<string>. This must be done solely for the purpose of having something to hang CollectionDataContractAttribute on. CollectionDataContractAttribute is what will let you specify the name of the elements inside <values>.
[DataContract]
public class Test
{
[DataMember(Name = "values")]
public TestValues values;
}
[CollectionDataContract(ItemName = "String")]
public class TestValues : List<string> { }
The DataContractSerializer has its own rules for XML and cannot support all XML forms. I suggest using the XmlSerializer.
Use this definition
[XmlClass(Namespace = "http://schemas.datacontract.org/2004/07/ConsoleApplication6")]
public class Test
{
[XmlArray("values")]
[XmlArrayItem("String")]
public String[] values;
}
I have a class defined as below:
[XmlRoot("ClassName")]
public class ClassName_0
{
//stuff...
}
I then create a list of ClassName_0 like such:
var myListInstance= new List<ClassName_0>();
This is the code I use to serialize:
var ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<ClassName_0>));
ser.Serialize(aWriterStream, myListInstance);
This is the code I use to deserialize:
var ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<ClassName_0>));
var wrapper = ser.Deserialize(new StringReader(xml));
If I serialize it to xml, the resulting xml looks like below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ArrayOfClassName_0 xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<ClassName_0>
<stuff></stuff>
</ClassName_0>
<ClassName_0>
<stuff></stuff>
</ClassName_0>
</ArrayOfClassName_0>
Is there a way to serialize and be able to deserialize the below from/to a list of ClassName_0?
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ArrayOfClassName xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<ClassName>
<stuff></stuff>
</ClassName>
<ClassName>
<stuff></stuff>
</ClassName>
</ArrayOfClassName>
Thanks!
In your example ClassName isn't the real root.
The real root is your list. So you have to mark the list as the root element.
Your class is just an XmlElement.
try this :
XmlType(TypeName="ClassName")]
public class ClassName_0
{
//stuff...
}
Worked it out, finally, with the help of Jan Peter. XmlRoot was the wrong attribute to put on the class. It was supposed to be XmlType. With XmlType the desired effect is achieved.
You make a root of document tree and this root will contain list of any object.
[XmlRootAttribute("myDocument")]
public class myDocument
{
[XmlArrayAttribute]
publict ClassName[] ArrayOfClassName {get;set;}
}
[XmlType(TypeName="ClassName")]
public class ClassName
{
public string stuff {get;set;}
}
Suppose I have the following class structure:
[XmlInclude(typeof(CustomNode))]
[XmlInclude(typeof(CustomNode2))]
[XmlRoot("node")]
class Node
{
[XmlElement("node")]
public Node[] Children { get; set; }
}
[XmlRoot("custom-node")]
class CustomNode : Node { }
[XmlRoot("custom-node-2")]
class CustomNode2 : Node { }
The I create the following structure:
var root = new Node { Children = new Node[2] };
root.Children[0] = new CustomNode();
root.Children[1] = new CustomNode2();
When I Xml serialize this structure, I get following output:
<node>
<node xsi:Type="CustomNode"/>
<node xsi:Type="CustomNode2"/>
</node>
But I would like to see (and be able to load properly) something like this:
<node>
<custom-node/>
<custom-node-2/>
</node>
Is it possible at all for XmlSerializer? The whole problem is because I intend to manually create source xml, and am trying to make it more humanreadble and friendly.
I found a solution for your problem which is nearly what you need:
[XmlRoot(ElementName = "node")]
public class Node
{
[XmlArrayItem(typeof(CustomNode), ElementName = "custom-node")]
[XmlArrayItem(typeof(CustomNode2), ElementName = "custom-node-2")]
public List<Node> Children { get; set; }
}
[XmlRoot(ElementName = "custom-node")]
public class CustomNode : Node { }
[XmlRoot(ElementName = "custom-node-2")]
public class CustomNode2 : Node { }
results in:
<node xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<Children>
<custom-node />
<custom-node-2 />
</Children>
</node>
Hope that helps a bit.
I don't think you'll be able persuade the XmlSerializer to output this xml if you are only using the various xml attibutes to specify the xml.
The [XmlRoot] attribute you are attempting to use is ignored if the type is not itself at the root (rather than being composed in another class).
However, you can implement the IXmlSerializable interface and provide an implementation for IXmlSerializable.WriteXml, which the XmlSerializer will call if present.
This will allow you to craft the xml you want directly to an XmlWriter.
If you also need to deserialize, you'll need to provide an equivalent implementation for IXmlSerializable.ReadXml as well.
I am serializing an object to xml and would like to set an xmlns attribute to the root node.
eg:
...
<root xmlns="[specified url]">
...
</root>
I cant seem to have an xmlns property/attribute on the member or seem to add the namespace when serializing without a prefix?
Any ideas?
This can do it as following. For top level use XmlRoot and for Properties use XmlElement
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlRoot(Namespace="http://topLevelNS")]
class MyClass
{
[System.Xml.Serialization.XmlElement(Namespace = "http://SomeOtherNS")]
public int MyVar { get; set; }
}