Reading from XML to Dictionary using XmlSerializer?

Question

This array:

public List<Publisher> Publishers
{
    get { return _Publishers; }
    set { _Publishers = value; }
}
private List<Publisher> _Publishers;

Is used by the XmlSerializer to store the data in the XML file.

But in terms of application use, I really need a Dictionary<string, Publisher> so that I can quickly find the right Publisher object based on the name.

Now, I realise that I can't do this directly using the XMLSerializer and that is why I am using the List. Is there any neat way to achieve what I desire once the data is read in from the XML file?

I realise I can iterate the list and build a dictionary. But is there an alternative?

Create a dictionary from your array and serialize it to store your data.... — L.B, Jan 03 '17 at 17:29
But I am using the XML file as my core database here, which reads to / from an array. The dictionary object is a temporary object to manage this list when my application runs. — Andrew Truckle, Jan 03 '17 at 17:31
this is what you need https://github.com/Atlas-Project/AtlasXmlSerializer — Mustafa Ekici, Jan 03 '17 at 18:02

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:16

Would this help.

    public List<Publisher> Publishers
    {
        get { return _Publishers; }
        set { _Publishers = value; }
    }
    private List<Publisher> _Publishers;

    private Dictionary<string, Publisher> _PublishersDictionary;
    public Dictionary<string, Publisher> PublisherDictionary
    {
        get
        {
            if(this._PublishersDictionary == null)
            {
                this._PublishersDictionary = this.Publishers.ToDictionary(p => p.Name, p => p);
            }

            return this._PublishersDictionary;
        }
    }

Code Found from Converting linq query to dictionary I just skipped the linq query result part.

Also if you are serializing this back to the xml the seriliser should ignore this property as it does not have a setter but you could also add the [xmlIgnore] attribute above this property.

Thanks. I will try this. – Andrew Truckle Jan 03 '17 at 18:56 — Andrew Truckle, Jan 03 '17 at 18:56

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 03 '17 at 19:05

1

I think the approach would be to back it with a dictionary, and present the List for the serialization. Like this:

public List<Publisher> Publishers
{
    get { return _PublishersDictionary.Select(x => x.Value).ToList(); }
    set { _publishersDictionary = value.ToDictionary(x => x.Name, x => x); }
}
private Dictionary<string, Publisher> _publishersDictionary;

[XmlIgnore]
public Dictionary<string, Publisher> PublisherDictionary
{
    get { return _publishersDictionary; }
}

answered Jan 03 '17 at 19:05

Stuart

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I end up with an empty XML when I use this approach. – Andrew Truckle Jan 03 '17 at 19:24
What does your constructor look like out of interest? – Stuart Jan 03 '17 at 19:26
For the publisher class? Doesn't have one. – Andrew Truckle Jan 03 '17 at 19:35
1

@AndrewTruckle Are you setting the property or adding to it? If you are adding to it then there needs to be some mechanism of updating the underlying `Dictionary`. – Stuart Jan 03 '17 at 19:35

Reading from XML to Dictionary using XmlSerializer?

2 Answers2