XML Serialization in C# .NET Core: A Comprehensive Guide | Pro Code Guide (2024)

In this article, we learn about XML-based Serialization and look at ways to achieve XML Serialization in C#. Serialization is an essential concept in software development that allows us to convert complex objects into a format suitable for storage or transmission. In C#, one of the commonly used serialization formats is XML (eXtensible Markup Language). XML provides a human-readable and platform-independent way to represent data. In this article, we will explore XML serialization in C# and learn how to serialize and deserialize objects using the .NET framework.

The System.Xml.Serialization Namespace

C# provides a dedicated namespace, System.Xml.Serialization which contains classes and attributes for XML serialization. This namespace offers a powerful set of tools to facilitate the process of converting objects to and from XML.

XML Serialization Attributes

To control the serialization process, we can use attributes provided by the System.Xml.Serialization namespace. Here are some commonly used attributes:

• XmlRootAttribute: Specifies the XML root element name for the serialized object.
• XmlElementAttribute: Specifies the XML element name for a particular member of a class.
• XmlAttributeAttribute: Specifies that a member should be serialized as an XML attribute rather than an element.
• XmlIgnoreAttribute: Excludes a member from the serialization process.
• XmlArrayAttribute: Specifies that a member represents an array of elements in the XML structure.

Basic XML Serialization in C#

To serialize an object to XML, we need to perform the following steps:

1. Define the classes and their members that we want to serialize.
2. Apply serialization attributes to control the serialization behaviour.
3. Use a serializer to convert the object into XML.

Let’s consider a simple example where we have a Person class representing a person’s information:

public class Person{ public string Name { get; set; } public int Age { get; set; }}

To serialize an instance of the Person class, we can use the XmlSerializer class from the System.Xml.Serialization namespace:

Person person = new Person { Name = "John Doe", Age = 30 };XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));using (TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter("person.xml")){ serializer.Serialize(writer, person);}

In the above code, we create an instance of the Person class and initialize its properties. Then, we create an instance of the XmlSerializer class, passing the type of object we want to serialize as a parameter. We use a TextWriter (in this case, a StreamWriter) to specify where we want to store the XML data. Finally, we call the Serialize method of the serializer, passing the writer and the object to be serialized.

After running the code, a file named “person.xml” will be created with the following content:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Person> <Name>John Doe</Name> <Age>30</Age></Person>

XML Deserialization

Deserialization is the process of converting XML data back into an object. We can achieve this using the XmlSerializer class as well. Here’s an example:

XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));using (TextReader reader = new StreamReader("person.xml")){ Person deserializedPerson = (Person)serializer.Deserialize(reader);}

In this code snippet, we create an instance of the XmlSerializer class, passing the type of object we want to deserialize. We use a TextReader (in this case, a StreamReader) to read the XML data from a file. Then, we call the Deserialize method of the serializer, passing the reader as a parameter. A result is an object of the type Person that contains the deserialized data.

Handling XML Namespace

When dealing with XML serialization, we might encounter scenarios where the XML contains namespaces. To handle namespaces, we can use the XmlSerializerNamespaces class:

XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));using (TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter("person.xml")){ XmlSerializerNamespaces namespaces = new XmlSerializerNamespaces(); namespaces.Add("custom", "http://example.com/custom-namespace"); serializer.Serialize(writer, person, namespaces);}

In the above code, we create an instance of the XmlSerializerNamespaces class and add the desired namespaces using the Add method. We then pass the namespaces object as the third parameter to the Serialize method.

Conclusion

XML serialization plays a crucial role in modern software development, allowing us to persist and exchange object data in a platform-independent manner. In this article, we explored the basics of XML serialization in C# using the System.Xml.Serialization namespace. We learned how to serialize and deserialize objects using the XmlSerializer class and how to handle namespaces. With this knowledge, you can apply XML serialization techniques to manage data in your C# applications efficiently.

References – Examples of XML Serialization in C#

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