WCF - Deserialize Abstract Class

Question

I have an abstract class 'Server' which I create in my JavaScript in my UI and then I want to have a method on my Web Service which does the following:

   public List<Database> GetDatabases(Server server)
    {
        Type type = server.GetType();
        Server x = null;

        if (typeof (SqlServer2005Server).Equals(type))
        {
            x = new SqlServer2005Server();
        }

        // Return the Databases from the server
        return x.GetDatabases();
    }

The issue I am having is that Server can not be deserilaized as it is absract, Do I need to have a method for each Server I have which inherits from the concretet ype i.e

   public List<Database> GetDatabases(SqlServer2005Server server)
    {
        // Return the Databases from the server
        return SqlServer2005Serverx.GetDatabases();
    }

   public List<Database> GetDatabases(OracleServer server)
    {
        // Return the Databases from the server
        return SqlServer2005Serverx.GetDatabases();
    }

I would really appreciate your help as i am not sure what is the best solution

Best Regards,

Phill

The exact error I receive is "Message : "Instances of abstract classes cannot be created.""

Answer 1

WCF will support inheritance, but you need to decorate your data contract with the known type attibute. For example:

[DataContract]
[KnownType(typeof(Customer))]
class Contact
{
   [DataMember]
   public string FirstName
   {get;set;}

   [DataMember]
   public string LastName
   {get;set;}
}
[DataContract]
class Customer : Contact
{
   [DataMember]
   public int OrderNumber
   {get;set;}
}

HTH.