Deserialize XML into a C# object

Question

How can I desearlize the below CatalogProduct tags into my CatalogProduct object using C#?

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<CatalogProducts>
    <CatalogProduct Name="MyName1" Version="1.1.0"/>
    <CatalogProduct Name="MyName2" Version="1.1.0"/>
</CatalogProducts>

Note i don't have a CatalogProducts object so want to skip that element when pulling back the into to deserialize

Thanks

It's not a deserialization because it's not a result of serialization. I could say that's just a parsing or creating an object basing on xml (of your own structure). Isn't it? — abatishchev, Nov 09 '10 at 15:22

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited Nov 09 '10 at 15:23

5

var xml = "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>" +
    "<CatalogProducts>" +
        "<CatalogProduct Name=\"MyName1\" Version=\"1.1.0\"/>" +
        "<CatalogProduct Name=\"MyName2\" Version=\"1.1.0\"/>" +
    "</CatalogProducts>";
var document = XDocument.Parse(xml);

IEnumerable<CatalogProduct> catalogProducts =
        from c in productsXml.Descendants("CatalogProduct")
        select new CatalogProduct
        {
            Name = c.Attribute("Name").Value,
            Version = c.Attribute("Version").Value
        };

edited Nov 09 '10 at 15:23

abatishchev

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answered Nov 09 '10 at 15:20

Chris Conway

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Hi Chris, can't i use the XmlSerializer object instead so I can add attributes to my XML doc and they will automatiaclly get set to the properties in my c# object? – Bob Nov 09 '10 at 15:24
Yes, that would require using the serializer to serialize and deserialize. This solution is the Linq to Xml way of parsing an xml document assuming the xml was not serialized. – Chris Conway Nov 09 '10 at 15:46

score 4 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 09 '14 at 13:54

Just for your information, here's an example how to really serialize and deserialize an object:

private CatalogProduct Load()
{
    var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(CatalogProduct));
    using (var xmlReader = new XmlTextReader("CatalogProduct.xml"))
    {
        if (serializer.CanDeserialize(xmlReader))
        {
            return serializer.Deserialize(xmlReader) as CatalogProduct;
        }
    }
}

private void Save(CatalogProduct cp)
{
    using (var fileStream = new FileStream("CatalogProduct.xml", FileMode.Create))
    {
        var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(CatalogProduct));
        serializer.Serialize(fileStream, cp);
    }
}

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:31

2

The canonical method would be to use the xsd.exe tool twice. First, to create a schema from your example XML as so:

xsd.exe file.xml will generate file.xsd.

Then:

xsd.exe /c file.xsd will generate file.cs.

File.cs will be the object(s) you can deserialize your XML from using any one of the techniques that you can easily find here, e.g. this.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:31

Community

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answered Nov 09 '10 at 15:15

Jesse C. Slicer

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Hi Jesse, I already have my CatalogProduct object. I just need to know the code to grab the specific elements form the XML using LINQ to XML or whatever and then serialise. I don't want to use the xsd.exe file. Thanks – Bob Nov 09 '10 at 15:21

score 0 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 05 '22 at 09:05

0

Without "CatalogProduct" object i think it's very difficult, maybe with the dynamic type of .net 4.0 it's possible, but i'm not sure.

The only way i know, is to utilize the XmlSerializer class with Deserialize method, but you need the object CatalogProduct.

I hope the following link is useful: Link

edited Jan 05 '22 at 09:05

Glorfindel

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answered Nov 09 '10 at 15:22

alfdev

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score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 09 '10 at 15:25

Assuming your CatalogProduct object looks something like this:

    public class CatalogProduct {
        public string Name;
        public string Version;
    }

I think Linq to Xml will be the simplest and fastest way for you

var cps1 = new[] { new CatalogProduct { Name = "Name 1", Version = "Version 1" },
                 new CatalogProduct { Name = "Name 2", Version = "Version 2" } };

var xml = new XElement("CatalogProducts", 
            from c in cps1
            select new XElement("CatalogProduct", 
                new XAttribute("Name", c.Name),
                new XAttribute("Version", c.Version)));

    // Use the following to deserialize you objects
var cps2 = xml.Elements("CatalogProduct").Select(x =>
    new CatalogProduct { 
        Name = (string)x.Attribute("Name"),
        Version = (string)x.Attribute("Version") }).ToArray();

Please note that .NET offers true object graph serialization which I have not shown

Deserialize XML into a C# object

5 Answers5