ansaurus

Question

WCF REST: Is it possible to remove the namespace added to my response XML?

Answer 1

+4 A:

I think if you just use

[DataContract(Namespace="")]

on the Bookmarks class, that should do it.

I just tried this and got the following:

<CompositeType xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"&gt;
  <BoolValue>true</BoolValue>
  <StringValue>Hello </StringValue>
</CompositeType>

John Saunders 2010-03-26 20:19:58

It doesn't do it when Bookmarks (CollectionDataContract) is the root namespace. And also adding [DataContract] requires that every property has a [DataMember] attribute.

Tawani 2010-03-26 21:24:26

@Tawani: yes, that's the recommended practice: explicitly mark your classes with [DataContract] and all your members with [DataMember]. WCF tries to encourage such an explicit coding style - your intent is clearer that way, someone else reading your code more quickly and easily understands what you're trying to do. Embrace it!

marc_s 2010-03-26 21:43:38

@marc_s: I don't mind marking all the classes with [DataContract]. I just want to get rid of the root namespace in the response. That way my clients will not need to explicitly add a namespace to every object.

Tawani 2010-03-26 22:14:15

@Tawani: using a namespace is really a best practice. You should use one of your own, though, and not let it default. Namespaces are especially important if some of your clients will be manipulating the XML from your service along with other XML. There can be naming conflicts if, for instance, your service has a "Book" element and so does another service, and they both want to be combined into one document. Don't you provide your clients with the XML Schema describing your XML? That will also tell them the namespace.

John Saunders 2010-03-27 01:19:26

@John Saunders: I understand what you mean but it still doesn't make any sense because our clients just need to parse out data and not merge it with others. Besides out JSON clients don't have a namespace issue.

Tawani 2010-03-27 19:18:56

@Tawani: JSON is used for almost nothing except web pages. XML has many more uses, so it's much more likely to have two XML documents combined. If you're sure your clients are that limited, then go ahead. The world has more in it than just web clients.

John Saunders 2010-03-27 19:25:05

Answer 2

A:

Actually, WCF REST Contrib proved to be the perfect solution using their PoxDataContract.

Tawani 2010-03-31 12:13:53

ansaurus

tags:

views:

answers:

WCF REST: Is it possible to remove the namespace added to my response XML?

related questions