Can you specify format for XmlSerialization of a datetime?

Question

I need to serialize / deserialize a datetime into yyyyMMdd format for an XML file. Is there an attribute / workaround I can use for this?

Answer 1

No, there isn't. If it's in that format, then it's not a valid dateTime as far as XML Schema is concerned.

The best you can do is as follows:

[XmlIgnore]
public DateTime DoNotSerialize {get;set;}

public string ProxyDateTime {
    get {return DoNotSerialize.ToString("yyyymmdd");}
    set {DoNotSerialize = DateTime.Parse("yyyymmdd");}
}

Answer 2

I think this answer might help you:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/299387/c-serializing-class-to-xml-where-one-of-class-properties-is-datetime-how-to-mak