IDeserializationCallback vs OnDeserializedAttribute

Question

As far as I understand, the IDeserializationCallback interface and the OnDeserialized event can both be used when an object needs to perform some task after being deserialized.

IDeserializationCallback:

[Serializable]
public class Foo : IDeserializationCallback
{
    public void OnDeserialization(object sender)
    {
         // initialize unserialized fields etc.
    }
}

OnDeserialized event:

[Serializable]
public class Foo
{
    [OnDeserialized]
    public void OnDeserialized(StreamingContext context)
    {
         // initialize unserialized fields etc.
    }
}

Are there any specific pros/cons or scenarios where you would choose one over the other?

Answer 1

I have wondered the same thing. As far as pros/cons go, I can only reason that the interface has an advantage in that it forces you to implement the correct method signature where-as the attribute version will happily let you compile your class regardless of what your method signature looks like.

Answer 2

Those two serve different purposes and cannot be used interchangeably. In most of the cases you probably will be better served by the interface.

Look here for some explanation: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/netfxremoting/thread/311b2b57-6b0a-49ed-aa96-84f69d51da0f