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c# Generate XML document based on Xpath

I need to create an XML document like this:
<Root>
<Data>
<Name>Name1</Name>
<Surname>Surname1</Surname>
<Gender>M</Gender>
</Data>
<Data>
<Name>Name2</Name>
<Surname>Surname2</Surname>
<Gender>F</Gender>
</Data>
</Root>
I've got the Xpath of the XML Elements, so I've create the following class
class XpathFieldValue
{
public string Xpath { get; set; }
public string Value { get; set; }
}
and then the following method
public static void CreateXml()
{
List<XpathFieldValue> fieldValues = new List<XpathFieldValue> {
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Name", Value="Name1" },
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Surname", Value="Surname1" },
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Gender", Value="M"},
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Name", Value="Name2" },
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Surname", Value="Surname2" },
new XpathFieldValue{ Xpath="/Root/Data/Gender", Value="F"}
};
XmlDocument document = new XmlDocument();
document.LoadXml("<Root/>");
foreach (XpathFieldValue fieldValue in fieldValues)
{
Set(document, fieldValue.Xpath, fieldValue.Value);
}
document.Save(#"C:\Temp\xmlDocOut.xml");
}
I've copyed the Set method from here: link
But when I run it it creates only the last parth of XML
<Root>
<Data>
<Name>Name2</Name>
<Surname>Surname2</Surname>
<Gender>F</Gender>
</Data>
</Root>
Can anyone help me?

XPath isn't really intended to generate documents but to access em.
Another (probably better) approach would be to serialize it.
But, since the question requires the fields of xml to be variable, serialization isn't a viable way. i STRONGLY advise you to change this requirement and you'll see why in the following example:
using System;
namespace ConsoleApp1
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
using (var writer = new System.IO.StreamWriter(#"C:\Users\luigi.trabacchin\Desktop\asd.xml"))
{
var doc = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
var root = doc.CreateElement("Root");
doc.AppendChild(root);
for (var i = 0; i <= 1; i++)
{
var dataNode = doc.CreateElement("Data");
root.AppendChild(dataNode);
{
var node = doc.CreateElement("Name");
dataNode.AppendChild(node);
var text = doc.CreateTextNode($"Name {i}");
node.AppendChild(text);
}
{
var node = doc.CreateElement("Surname");
dataNode.AppendChild(node);
var text = doc.CreateTextNode($"Surname {i}");
node.AppendChild(text);
}
{
var node = doc.CreateElement("Gender");
dataNode.AppendChild(node);
var text = doc.CreateTextNode(i %2 == 0 ? "M" : "F");
node.AppendChild(text);
}
}
doc.Save(writer);
}
Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
}
}
}
It quickly becomes very tedious and hard to work with.
Still i hope this answer your question.
Next time, maybe, state all the requirements directly in the question!

How would I parse an XML file into a list

List:
List<string> list = new List<string>();
XML File:
<memberlist>
<member>
<name>Name</name>
<status>Status</status>
</member>
</memberlist>
How would I go about parsing this file, lets say (file.xml) into the list?
I've tried many ways but none of them seem to be working.
I want to check to see if the status is 'gold', and if it is, I would like to put the name of that member into the list.

Load the xml into an XDocument. You can do this from a file, I have demonstrated from a string.
Do a linq query for elements named "status" (within "member") that also have a value of "gold".
Of those, grab the value of the "name" element.
Use AddRange on your list of strings.
List<string> lstGolds = new List<string>();
string xml ="<memberlist><member><name>Name</name><status>gold</status></member></memberlist>";
XDocument doc = XDocument.Parse(xml);
var goldStatus = doc.Descendants("member")
.Where(d => d.Element("status").Value == "gold")
.Select(d => d.Element("name").Value);
lstGolds.AddRange(goldStatus);

You should use using System.Xml.Linq;
using (FileStream fileStramWrite = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read, FileShare.Read))
using (StreamReader streamReader = new StreamReader(fileStramWrite))
{
var xdoc = XDocument.Load(streamReader);
var xElement = xdoc.Element("memberlist");
var xElement2 = xElement.Element("member");
var name = xElement2.Element("name").Value;
var status = xElement2.Element("status").Value;
}

Convert your XML to a list of objects....
Use these two mehods:
public static string Serialize<T>(T dataToSerialize)
{
try
{
var stringwriter = new ISOEncodingStringWriter();
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
var xns = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
xns.Add(string.Empty, string.Empty);
serializer.Serialize(stringwriter, dataToSerialize, xns);
return stringwriter.ToString();
}
catch
{
throw;
}
}
public static T Deserialize<T>(string xmlText)
{
try
{
var stringReader = new System.IO.StringReader(xmlText);
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
return (T)serializer.Deserialize(stringReader);
}
catch
{
throw;
}
}
Make the following Class where you give the following attributes
[XmlRoot(ElementName = "Members", Namespace = "")]
public class Members
{
[XmlElement("Member")]
public Member[] member { get; set; }
}
public class Member
{
[XmlElementAttribute("Name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[XmlElementAttribute("Status")]
public string Status { get; set; }
}
Then deserialize your data.
Members result = Deserialize<Members>(XML_String);
You got your members in a array and you ca convert that to a list if you want.

You can use LINQ
XElement xml = XElement.Load("locationToYourXmlFile");
var members = xml.Elements("member");
var list = members.Where(member => member.Element("status")?.Value == "Gold")
.Select(member => member.Element("name")?.Value)
.ToList();
Assuming your XML has a bunch of member elements under the root memberlist element, each with a name and status element inside that.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<memberlist>
<member>
<name>John</name>
<status>Gold</status>
</member>
<member>
<name>Sam</name>
<status>Silver</status>
</member>
<member>
<name>Sara</name>
<status>Gold</status>
</member>
</memberlist>

How to serialize List<T> to XML Document.?

I'm not experienced in XML-serialization. I need to serialize System.Collections.Generic.List to XML document. I have the following classes:
public class Person
{
public string Name;
public string Phone;
public Int32 Score;
}
[Serializable()]
public class PersonOperation:Person
{
public String City;
public String OperationType;
public DateTime OperationDate;
public Decimal Amount;
public Decimal AmountEUR;
public void RoubleToEuro(CurrencyCode p_CurrencyCode, Decimal p_CurrencyRate)
{
if (p_CurrencyCode == CurrencyCode.Euro)
{
this.AmountEUR = Decimal.Round(Amount / p_CurrencyRate, 2);
}
}
}
I have a collection of PersonOperation instances that I must serialize to XML.
private List<PersonOperation> _depositorsOperationsList = new List<PersonOperation>();
For XML serialization I try to use the following method:
public XmlDocument GetEntityXml<T>()
{
XmlAttributeOverrides overrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();
XmlAttributes attr = new XmlAttributes();
attr.XmlRoot = new XmlRootAttribute("Operation");
overrides.Add(typeof(List<T>), attr);
XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
XPathNavigator nav = xmlDoc.CreateNavigator();
using (XmlWriter writer = nav.AppendChild())
{
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<T>), overrides);
ser.Serialize(writer, _depositorsOperationsList);
}
return xmlDoc;
}
I'm in need of the following XML-format after serialization:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="Windows-1251" ?>
<Operation>
<PersonOperation>
<Name>John Smith</Name>
<Phone>79161234586</Phone>
<City>Glasgow</City>
<Date>2014-02-03</Date>
<OperationType>Join</OperationType>
<Amount>9000.00</Amount>
<AmountEUR>144.06</AmountEUR>
</PersonOperation>
<PersonOperation>
<Name>Bill Satly</Name>
<Phone>79163214569</Phone>
<City>London</City>
<Date>2014-07-10</Date>
<OperationType>Join</OperationType>
<Amount>9000.00</Amount>
<AmountEUR>144.06</AmountEUR>
</PersonOperation>
. . . . . . . . . . .
<Operation>
But instead of this format I have the following one-line horror:
<Operation xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"><PersonOperation><Name>John Smith</Name><Phone>79161234586</Phone><Score>270</Score><City>Glasgow</City><OperationType>Join</OperationType><OperationDate>2014-02-03</OperationDate><Amount>9000.0000</Amount><AmountEUR>144.06</AmountEUR></PersonOperation><PersonOperation><Name>Bill Satly</Name><Phone>79163214569</Phone><Score>270</Score><City>London</City><OperationType>Join</OperationType><OperationDate>2014-07-10</OperationDate><Amount>9000.0000</Amount><AmountEUR>144.06</AmountEUR></PersonOperation></Operation>
How can I repair my GetEntityXml method for correct XML-format?

The XmlWriter has a Settings property of type XmlWriterSettings.
Try using that to specify the formatting to be used.
using (XmlWriter writer = nav.AppendChild())
{
writer.Settings.Indent = true;
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<T>), overrides);
ser.Serialize(writer, _depositorsOperationsList);
}
More information here:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/kbef2xz3(VS.80).aspx

If you open your file with special XML editor or just with web navigator like chrome or internet explorer it will look like you want.

Just pasting snippet from my code that works fine..
Public Function ToXmlString() As String
Dim builder = New StringBuilder()
Dim xmlSerializer = New XmlSerializer(GetType(List(Of T)), New XmlRootAttribute(_rootNodeName))
Using writer = XmlWriter.Create(builder, New XmlWriterSettings() With {.OmitXmlDeclaration = True})
xmlSerializer.Serialize(writer, _source)
End Using
Return builder.ToString()
End Function
---- Converted C# Code ----
public string ToXmlString()
{
var builder = new StringBuilder();
var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(List<T>), new XmlRootAttribute(_rootNodeName));
using (writer = XmlWriter.Create(builder, new XmlWriterSettings { OmitXmlDeclaration = true })) {
xmlSerializer.Serialize(writer, _source);
}
return builder.ToString();
}
where _rootNodeName is name of your root node of xml and _source is sourceList
And then to create XMLDoc from string --
XmlDocument xml = new XmlDocument();
xml.LoadXml(xmlString);

Serialize a list of primitives to XML with overrides

I'm trying to serialize an array of integers to XML, but I can't quite get the output to look the way I want. I need to find some way to override the element name of each element in the array.
The code I have so far:
var numbers = new int[]{1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(int[]), new XmlRootAttribute("rows"));
using (var stringWriter = new StringWriter())
{
serializer.Serialize(stringWriter, numbers);
Console.Write(stringWriter.ToString());
}
The output I am after:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<rows xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<row>1</row>
<row>2</row>
<row>3</row>
<row>4</row>
<row>5</row>
</rows>
The current output that I see:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
<rows xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
<int>1</int>
<int>2</int>
<int>3</int>
<int>4</int>
<int>5</int>
</rows>

You can create a seperate class to hold your values and you can specify Xml attributes as follows:
[Serializable]
[XmlRoot("rows")]
public class Rows
{
[XmlElement("row")]
public List<int> Elements { get; set; }
}
public static void SerializeOnScreen()
{
Rows numbers = new Rows();
numbers.Elements = new List<int>() { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Rows));
using (var stringWriter = new StringWriter())
{
serializer.Serialize(stringWriter, numbers);
Console.Write(stringWriter.ToString());
}
}

Writing XML Files in C#?

How would I go about doing this:
for( var i = 0; i < emp; i++ )
{
Console.WriteLine("Name: ");
var name = Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Nationality:");
var country = Console.ReadLine();
employeeList.Add( new Employee(){
Name = name,
Nationality = country
} );
}
I want a test run of, for example:
Imran Khan
Pakistani
to generate an XML File:
<employee>
<name> Imran Khan </name>
<nationality> Pakistani </nationality>
</employee>
Any suggestions?

My suggestion is to use xml serialization:
[XmlRoot("employee")]
public class Employee {
[XmlElement("name")]
public string Name { get; set; }
[XmlElement("nationality")]
public string Nationality { get; set; }
}
void Main() {
// ...
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Employee));
var emp = new Employee { /* properties... */ };
using (var output = /* open a Stream or a StringWriter for output */) {
serializer.Serialize(output, emp);
}
}

There are several ways, but the one I like is using the class XDocument.
Here's a nice example on how to do it.
How can I build XML in C#?
If you have any questions, just ask.

To give you an idea of how XDocument works based on your loop, you would do this:
XDocument xdoc = new XDocument();
xdoc.Add(new XElement("employees"));
for (var i = 0; i < 3; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine("Name: ");
var name = Console.ReadLine();
Console.WriteLine("Nationality:");
var country = Console.ReadLine();
XElement el = new XElement("employee");
el.Add(new XElement("name", name), new XElement("country", country));
xdoc.Element("employees").Add(el);
}
After running, xdoc would be something like:
<employees>
<employee>
<name>bob</name>
<country>us</country>
</employee>
<employee>
<name>jess</name>
<country>us</country>
</employee>
</employees>

<employee>
<name> Imran Khan </name>
<nationality> Pakistani </nationality>
</employee>
XElement x = new XElement ("employee",new XElement("name",e.name),new XElement("nationality",e.nationality) );