Mapping a class and xml file using serialization

Question

If I create a class in C#, how can I serialize/deserialize it to a file? Is this somethat that can be done using built in functionality or is it custom code?

Answer 1

XmlSerializer; note that the exact xml names can be controlled through various attributes, but all you really need is:

• a public type
• with a default constructor
• and public read/write members (ideally properties)

Example:

using System;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
public class Person {
    public string Name { get; set; }
}

static class Program {
    static void Main() {
        Person person = new Person { Name = "Fred"};
        XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));
        // write
        using (XmlWriter xw = XmlWriter.Create("file.xml")) {
            ser.Serialize(xw, person);
        }
        // read
        using (XmlReader xr = XmlReader.Create("file.xml")) {
            Person clone = (Person) ser.Deserialize(xr);
            Console.WriteLine(clone.Name);
        }
    }
}

Answer 2

You need to use class XmlSerializer. Main methods are Serialize and Deserialize. They accept streams, text readers\writers and other classes.

Code sample:

public class Program
{
    public class MyClass
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
    }

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        var myObj = new MyClass { Name = "My name" };
        var fileName = "data.xml";

        var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyClass));

        using (var output = new XmlTextWriter(fileName, Encoding.UTF8))
            serializer.Serialize(output, myObj);

        using (var input = new StreamReader(fileName))
        {
            var deserialized = (MyClass)serializer.Deserialize(input);
            Console.WriteLine(deserialized.Name);
        }

        Console.WriteLine("Press ENTER to finish");
        Console.ReadLine();
    }
}