In .NET Xml Serialization, is it possible to serialize a class with an enum property with different
- by Lasse V. Karlsen
I have a class, containing a list property, where the list contains objects that has an enum property.
When I serialize this, it looks like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ibm850"?>
<test>
<events>
<test-event type="changing" />
<test-event type="changed" />
</events>
</test>
Is it possible, through attributes, or similar, to get the Xml to look like this?
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ibm850"?>
<test>
<events>
<changing />
<changed />
</events>
</test>
Basically, use the property value of the enum as a way to determine the tag-name? Is using a class hierarchy (ie. creating subclasses instead of using the property value) the only way?
Edit: After testing, it seems even a class-hierarchy won't actually work. If there is a way to structure the classes to get the output I want, even with sub-classes, that is also an acceptable answer.
Here's a sample program that will output the above Xml (remember to hit Ctrl+F5 to run in Visual Studio, otherwise the program window will close immediately):
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
namespace ConsoleApplication18
{
public enum TestEventTypes
{
[XmlEnum("changing")]
Changing,
[XmlEnum("changed")]
Changed
}
[XmlType("test-event")]
public class TestEvent
{
[XmlAttribute("type")]
public TestEventTypes Type { get; set; }
}
[XmlType("test")]
public class Test
{
private List<TestEvent> _Events = new List<TestEvent>();
[XmlArray("events")]
public List<TestEvent> Events { get { return _Events; } }
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Test test = new Test();
test.Events.Add(new TestEvent { Type = TestEventTypes.Changing });
test.Events.Add(new TestEvent { Type = TestEventTypes.Changed });
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Test));
XmlSerializerNamespaces ns = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
ns.Add("", "");
serializer.Serialize(Console.Out, test, ns);
}
}
}
