We Keep Coding

Deserialize into object from not nested xml

Imaging an XML-file like this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-16"?>
<treffer>
<prod_internid>123456789</prod_internid>
<md_nr>123123</md_nr>
<md_mart_id>4</md_mart_id>
<md_mtyp_nr>9876</md_mtyp_nr>
<mra_th>
<ie_th_pth>-1</ie_th_pth>
<ie_th_ea_bez>Fehler: Keine Angabe</ie_th_ea_bez>
</mra_th>
</treffer>
As you can see, there are three tags with <md_XY></md_XY>.
I want to deserialize them into an object that looks like this:
public class DeMedienXmlDto
{
[XmlElement("md_nr")]
public int MedienNr { get; set; }
[XmlElement("md_mart_id")]
public int MedienArtId { get; set; }
[XmlElement("md_mtyp_nr")]
public string MedienTypId { get; set; }
}
But this should be a property of the whole deserialized object:
[XmlRoot("treffer")]
public class DeAnalyseArtikelXmlDto
{
[XmlElement("prod_internid")]
public long ArtikelId { get; set; }
[XmlElement("treffer")]
public DeMedienXmlDto Medium { get; set; }
[XmlElement("mra_th")]
public List<DeThemenXmlDto> Themen { get; set; }
}
I've tried annotating the Medium property with [XmlElement("treffer")] since the tags are childs of <treffer> but that didn't work...
Deserializing the <mra_th>...</mra_th> works since I can annotate the list with the grouped tag but I don't have such a tag for <md...>.
How can I achieve this?
My xml deserializer looks like this:
public class XmlDeserializer : IXmlDeserializer
{
public T Deserialize<T>(string xmlFilename)
{
var returnObject = default(T);
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(xmlFilename)) return default(T);
try
{
var xmlStream = new StreamReader(xmlFilename);
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
returnObject = (T)serializer.Deserialize(xmlStream);
}
catch (Exception exception) {
LogHelper.LogError($"Das XML-File {xmlFilename} konnte nicht deserialisiert werden: {exception.Message}");
throw;
}
return returnObject;
}
}
Thanks in advance
Edit (to clarify):
I want the following tags deserialized into an object of type DeMedienXmlDto:
<md_nr>
<md_mart_id>
<md_mtyp_nr>

This is not how XmlSerializer works. The class structure must correspond to structure of the XML in order to work automatically.
This:
[XmlElement("treffer")]
public DeMedienXmlDto Medium { get; set; }
doesn't work, because there is no nested <treffer> element. The XmlElementAttribute cannot denote the parent (surrounding) element.
The are two options how to solve your situation:
Use a separate set of classes for deserialization, and a separate set representing your DTO objects. You'd then need to create a mapping.
Implement IXmlSerializable on DeAnalyseArtikelXmlDto and parse the inner XML yourself.

Deserialize XML to object (need to return a list of objects)

Started practicing with XML and C# and I have an error message of "There is an error in XML document (3,2)". After looking at the file, I can't see anything wrong with it (Mind you, I probably missed something since I'm a noob). I'm using a Console Application for C# right now. I'm trying to return a list of Adventurers and just a side note, the GEAR element is optional. Here is what I have so far:
XML File - Test1
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Catalog>
<Adventurer>
<ID>001</ID>
<Name>John Smith</Name>
<Address>123 Fake Street</Address>
<Phone>123-456-7890</Phone>
<Gear>
<Attack>
<Item>
<IName>Sword</IName>
<IPrice>15.00</IPrice>
</Item>
<Item>
<IName>Wand</IName>
<IPrice>20.00</IPrice>
</Item>
</Attack>
<Defense>
<Item>
<IName>Shield</IName>
<IPrice>5.00</IPrice>
</Item>
</Defense>
</Gear>
</Adventurer>
<Adventurer>
<ID>002</ID>
<Name>Guy noone likes</Name>
<Address>Some Big House</Address>
<Phone>666-666-6666</Phone>
<Gear></Gear>
</Adventurer>
</Catalog>
C# Classes
public class Catalog
{
List<Adventurer> Adventurers { get; set; }
}
public class Adventurer
{
public int ID { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Address { get; set; }
public string Phone { get; set; }
public Gear Gear { get; set; }
}
public class Gear
{
public List<Item> Attack { get; set; }
public List<Item> Defense { get; set; }
}
public class Item
{
public string IName { get; set; }
public decimal IPrice { get; set; }
}
Serialize Function - Where the Problem Occurs at Line 5
Catalog obj = null;
string path = #"C:\Users\Blah\Desktop\test1.xml";
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Catalog));
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(path);
obj = (Catalog)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
reader.Close();
Console.ReadLine();

The issue is the list of Adventurers in Catalog:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Catalog>
<Adventurers> <!-- you're missing this -->
<Adventurer>
</Adventurer>
...
<Adventurer>
</Adventurer>
</Adventurers> <!-- and missing this -->
</Catalog>
You don't have the wrapping element for the Adventurers collection.
EDIT: By the way, I find the easiest way to build the XML structure and make sure it's compatible is to create the object(s) in C#, then run through the built-in XmlSerializer and use its XML output as a basis for any XML I create rather than forming it by hand.

First, "Adventurers" property is not public, it's inaccessible, I think that the best way to find the error is to serialize your object and then compare the result with your xml file.

Your XML doesn't quite line up with your objects... namely these two...
public string City { get; set; }
and
<Address>123 Fake Street</Address>
Change City to Address or vice versa and it should fix the problem.
Edit: Got this to work in a test project, combination of all our answers...
Add <Adventurers> tag after <Catalog> (and </Adventurers> before </Catalog>) and change
List<Adventurer> Adventurers { get; set; }
to
public List<Adventurer> Adventurers { get; set; }
and it works properly for me.

I was able to get your xml to deserialize with a couple minor changes (namely the public qualifier on Adventurer).
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
namespace TempSandbox
{
[XmlRoot]
public class Catalog
{
[XmlElement("Adventurer")]
public List<Adventurer> Adventurers;
private readonly static Type[] myTypes = new Type[] { typeof(Adventurer), typeof(Gear), typeof(Item) };
private readonly static XmlSerializer mySerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Catalog), myTypes);
public static Catalog Deserialize(string xml)
{
return (Catalog)Utils.Deserialize(mySerializer, xml, Encoding.UTF8);
}
}
[XmlRoot]
public class Adventurer
{
public int ID;
public string Name;
public string Address;
public string Phone;
[XmlElement(IsNullable = true)]
public Gear Gear;
}
[XmlRoot]
public class Gear
{
public List<Item> Attack;
public List<Item> Defense;
}
[XmlRoot]
public class Item
{
public string IName;
public decimal IPrice;
}
}
I'm using [XmlElement("Adventurer")] because the xml element names don't exactly match the class property names.
NOTE: I'm using a generic deserialization utility i already had on hand .

C# serialize simple object to xml. no namespace no Nulls

I got the following code:
public class Alarm:IDisposable
{
MemoryStream _tmp;
readonly XmlDocument _doc;
private readonly XmlSerializerNamespaces _ns;
private readonly XmlSerializer _x = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Alarm));
public int? ID { get; set; }
public string SourceSystem { get; set; }
public string SensorName { get; set; }
public string ModelName { get; set; }
public int? Severity { get; set; }
public int? Duration { get; set; }
public bool? Status { get; set; }
public DateTime? StartTime { get; set; }
public DateTime? EndTime { get; set; }
public Alarm()
{
_tmp = new MemoryStream();
_doc = new XmlDocument();
_ns = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
_ns.Add("", "");
}
public string OuterXml()
{
//Add an empty namespace and empty value
_x.Serialize(_tmp, this, _ns);
_tmp.Position = 0;
_doc.Load(_tmp);
return _doc.OuterXml;
}
public void Dispose()
{
if (_tmp!=null)
{
_tmp.Close();
_tmp = null;
}
}
}
I get as output"
<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>
<Alarm><ID>1</ID><SourceSystem>HMer</SourceSystem>
<SensorName>4</SensorName><Severity d2p1:nil=\"true\" xmlns:d2p1=\"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance\" />
<Duration>500</Duration><Status>true</Status>
<StartTime>2011-07-19T12:29:51.171875+03:00</StartTime>
<EndTime d2p1:nil=\"true\"
xmlns:d2p1=\"http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance\" /></Alarm>
I wanna get:
<Alarm><ID>1</ID><SourceSystem>HMer</SourceSystem><SensorName>4</SensorName>
<Duration>500</Duration><Status>true</Status>
<StartTime>2011-07-19T12:29:51.171875+03:00</StartTime></Alarm>
meaning no xmlns stuff, no tag where value is null.
please assist meh

Add the following properties to your Nullable fields:
[XmlIgnore]
public bool EndTimeSpecified { get { return EndTime.HasValue; } }
This lets XmlSerializer (which is a bit dumb about Nulllable fields) realize that no EndTime has been specified, and, thus, the field does not need to be serialized.
Here's the documentation of this feature:
Another option is to use a special pattern to create a Boolean field recognized by the XmlSerializer, and to apply the XmlIgnoreAttribute to the field. The pattern is created in the form of propertyNameSpecified. For example, if there is a field named "MyFirstName" you would also create a field named "MyFirstNameSpecified" that instructs the XmlSerializer whether to generate the XML element named "MyFirstName".
Here's a related SO question that offers more details and explanations:
How to make a value type nullable with .NET XmlSerializer?
About removing the XML processing instruction (i.e., the <?xml ... ?> part), there's also a SO question about that:
Omitting XML processing instruction when serializing an object

How to change the tag name of the serialized XML element via IXmlSerializable

Some background:
We have some entity classes need to be serialized, so we implement the entity class as following in the first edition:
[XmlType("FooElement")]
public class Foo
{
[XmlText]
public string Text { get; set; }
}
The serialized XML string should be:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="gb2312"?>
<FooElement xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" mlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">foo</FooElement>
But we need to make the Text property as read only, so we change the Foo class to implement the IXmlSerializable interface as following:
[Serializable]
public class Foo : IXmlSerializable
{
public Foo()
{ }
public Foo(string text)
{
Text = text;
}
public string Text { get; private set; }
public XmlSchema GetSchema()
{
return null;
}
public void ReadXml(XmlReader reader)
{
Text = reader.Value;
}
public void WriteXml(XmlWriter writer)
{
writer.WriteValue(Text);
}
}
Then the serialized XML string was also changed as following:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="gb2312"?><Foo>foo</Foo>
Is there any way to change the tag name from "<Foo>foo</Foo>" to "<FooElement>foo</FooElement>"?

I guess, XmlRootAttribute should play well with IXmlSerializable.

Deserialization Error: The XML element 'name' from namespace '' is already present in the current scope

This is my first time using XML Serialization and this is driving me absolutely nuts after 2 days of trying to troubleshoot this.
I get this error when the deserialization kicks in:
The XML element 'name' from namespace '' is already present in the current scope. Use XML attributes to specify another XML name or namespace for the element.
The error happens on this line in my code:
Album album = (Album)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
I not sure why. There is no dup "name" node so I just don't get it. This is an XML doc received from an HttpWebResponse from a 3rd party REST API.
Here's the complete code:
My Album Class (the type I'm Deserializing to):
public class Album
{
#region Constructors
public Album()
{
}
#endregion
#region ElementConstants
public static class ElementConstants
{
public const string aID = "aid";
public const string Owner = "owner";
public const string AlbumName = "name";
public const string CoverPhotoID = "cover_pid";
public const string CreateDate = "created";
public const string LastModifiedDate = "modified";
public const string Description = "description";
public const string Location = "location";
public const string AlbumURL = "link";
public const string Size = "size";
public const string Visible = "visible";
}
#endregion ElementConstants
#region Public Properties
[XmlArray(ElementName = "photos_GetAlbums_response")]
[XmlArrayItem( "album" )]
public Album[] Albums { get; set; }
[XmlElement (ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumName, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumID { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.aID, DataType = "int")]
public Int32 CoverPhotoID { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Owner, DataType = "string")]
public string Owner { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumName, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumName { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.aID, DataType = "DateTime")]
public DateTime CreateDate { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.LastModifiedDate, DataType = "DateTime")]
public DateTime LastModifiedDate { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Description, DataType = "string")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Location, DataType = "string")]
public string Location { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumURL, DataType = "string")]
public string Link { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Size, DataType = "size")]
public string Size { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Visible, DataType = "string")]
public string Visible { get; set; }
#endregion
}
My Serializer Class:
public class Serializer
{
public static Album CreateAlbumFromXMLDoc(XmlDocument doc)
{
// Create an instance of a serializer
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Album));
var reader = new StringReader(doc.ToString());
// Deserialize the Xml Object and cast to type Album
Album album = (Album)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
return album;
}
}
The XML that I am trying to Deserialized (copied from the Xml Doc object being passed into the CreateAlbumFromXMLDoc method when debugging in VS):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<photos_GetAlbums_response xsi:schemaLocation="http://api.example.com/1.0/ http://api.example.com/1.0/xxx.xsd" list="true">
<album>
<aid>3231990241086938677</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087042549</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>LA</name>
<created>1233469624</created>
<modified>1233469942</modified>
<description>trip to LA</description>
<location>CA</location>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=7333&id=1337262814</link>
<size>48</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086936240</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087005994</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Wall Photos</name>
<created>1230437805</created>
<modified>1233460690</modified>
<description/>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=3296&id=1337262814</link>
<size>34</size>
<visible>everyone</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086937544</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087026027</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Mobile Uploads</name>
<created>1231984989</created>
<modified>1233460349</modified>
<description/>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=6300&id=1337262814</link>
<size>3</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086936188</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087005114</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Christmas 2008</name>
<created>1230361978</created>
<modified>1230362306</modified>
<description>My Album</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=5234&id=1337262814</link>
<size>50</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935881</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087001093</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Hock</name>
<created>1229889219</created>
<modified>1229889235</modified>
<description>Misc Pics</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4937&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>friends-of-friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935541</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241086996817</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Test Album 2 (for work)</name>
<created>1229460455</created>
<modified>1229460475</modified>
<description>this is a test album</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4547&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>everyone</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935537</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241086996795</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Test Album (for work)</name>
<created>1229459168</created>
<modified>1229459185</modified>
<description>Testing for work</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4493&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
</photos_GetAlbums_response>
A side note: Just for the hell of it, I paste that XML into XML Notepad 2007, it tells me:
Your XML document contains no xml-stylesheet processing instruction. To provide an XSLT transform, add the following to the top of your file and edit the href attribute accordingly:
I don't think that really means it's malformed or anything but just something to note.
So..
My ultimate goal is to get pass this damn error obviously and get an array of albums back using my code above once I can get past the error. I also want to make sure my code is correct in trying to retrieve that arrray back of albums using my Album[] property in my Album class or anything else I might be missing here. I think it's pretty close and should work but it's not.
Follow-up. I've been pulling my hair out since then.
Here's the latest. I did not use some things for now (from Marc) like the Enum, etc. I might change that later. I also pulled out the datetime stuff as it just looked wierd and I did not get errors on that anway without...at least yet. The main problem now is still my damn XML.
It's still appearing to have problems with the format I guess? Unless it's covering up another problem, no clue. This is driving me fing crazy.
I now get this error when the deserialization kicks in:
Data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1.
The error happens on this line in my code: GetAlbumsResponse album = (GetAlbumsResponse)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
How I get the response into an XmL doc:
public static XmlDocument GetResponseXmlDocument(HttpWebResponse response)
{
Stream dataStream = null; // stream from WebResponse
XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
if (doc == null)
{
throw new NullReferenceException("The web reponse was null");
}
// Get the response stream so we can read the body of the response
dataStream = response.GetResponseStream();
// Open the stream using a StreamReader for easy access
StreamReader reader = new StreamReader(dataStream);
// Load response into string variable so that we can then load into an XML doc
string responseString = reader.ReadToEnd();
// Create an XML document & load it with the response data
doc.LoadXml(responseString);
// Final XML document that represents the response
return doc;
}
My Album Class & Root Level Class (thanks to help from Marc..I get it now):
namespace xxx.Entities
{
[Serializable, XmlRoot("photos_GetAlbums_response")]
public class GetAlbumsResponse
{
[XmlElement("album")]
public List<Album> Albums { get; set; }
[XmlAttribute("list")]
public bool IsList { get; set; }
}
public class Album
{
#region Constructors
public Album()
{
}
#endregion
#region ElementConstants
/// <summary>
/// Constants Class to eliminate use of Magic Strings (hard coded strings)
/// </summary>
public static class ElementConstants
{
public const string aID = "aid";
public const string Owner = "owner";
public const string AlbumName = "name";
public const string CoverPhotoID = "cover_pid";
public const string CreateDate = "created";
public const string LastModifiedDate = "modified";
public const string Description = "description";
public const string Location = "location";
public const string AlbumURL = "link";
public const string Size = "size";
public const string Visible = "visible";
}
#endregion ElementConstants
#region Public Properties
[XmlElement (ElementName = ElementConstants.aID, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumID { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.CoverPhotoID, DataType = "int")]
public Int32 CoverPhotoID { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Owner, DataType = "string")]
public string Owner { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumName, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumName { get; set; }
public string Created { get; set; }
public DateTime Modified { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Description, DataType = "string")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Location, DataType = "string")]
public string Location { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumURL, DataType = "string")]
public string Link { get; set; }
public string Size { get; set; }
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.Visible, DataType = "string")]
public string Visible { get; set; }
#endregion
}
}
My Serializer Class:
namespace xxx.Utilities
{
public class Serializer
{
public static List<Album> CreateAlbumFromXMLDoc(XmlDocument doc)
{
// Create an instance of a serializer
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Album));
var reader = new StringReader(doc.ToString());
// Deserialize the Xml Object and cast to type Album
GetAlbumsResponse album = (GetAlbumsResponse)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
return album.Albums;
}
}
}
The true XML incoming, that I am trying to Deserialize (yes it does have xmlns):
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<photos_GetAlbums_response xmlns="http://api.example.com/1.0/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://api.example.com/1.0/ http://api.example.com/1.0/xxx.xsd" list="true">
<album>
<aid>7321990241086938677</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087042549</cover_pid>
<owner>1124262814</owner>
<name>Album Test 1</name>
<created>1233469624</created>
<modified>1233469942</modified>
<description>Our trip</description>
<location>CA</location>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=7733&id=1124262814</link>
<size>48</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>231990241086936240</aid>
<cover_pid>7042330241087005994</cover_pid>
<owner>1124262814</owner>
<name>Album Test 2</name>
<created>1230437805</created>
<modified>1233460690</modified>
<description />
<location />
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=5296&id=1124262814</link>
<size>34</size>
<visible>everyone</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>70319423341086937544</aid>
<cover_pid>7032390241087026027</cover_pid>
<owner>1124262814</owner>
<name>Album Test 3</name>
<created>1231984989</created>
<modified>1233460349</modified>
<description />
<location />
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=6600&id=1124262814</link>
<size>3</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
</photos_GetAlbums_response>

Personally, I wouldn't use constants here - they make it hard to spot errors (and since you probably aren't re-using them, don't add much). For example:
[XmlElement (ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumName, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumID { get; set; }
...
[XmlElement(ElementName = ElementConstants.AlbumName, DataType = "string")]
public string AlbumName { get; set; }
Looks suspect to me...
An easier approach is to write the xml you want to a file (foo.xml, say) and use:
xsd foo.xml
xsd foo.xsd /classes
Then look at foo.cs.

Here we go... note the xml was invalid (& should be &; use of undeclared xsi namespace-alias). Note also that I added an enum for the visibility, added handling for converting the long to DateTime, and added the wrapper type:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
static class Program
{
const string xml = #"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""UTF-8""?>
<photos_GetAlbums_response
xmlns:xsi=""http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance""
xsi:schemaLocation=""http://api.example.com/1.0/ http://api.example.com/1.0/xxx.xsd""
list=""true"">
<album>
<aid>3231990241086938677</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087042549</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>LA</name>
<created>1233469624</created>
<modified>1233469942</modified>
<description>trip to LA</description>
<location>CA</location>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=7333&id=1337262814</link>
<size>48</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086936240</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087005994</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Wall Photos</name>
<created>1230437805</created>
<modified>1233460690</modified>
<description/>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=3296&id=1337262814</link>
<size>34</size>
<visible>everyone</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086937544</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087026027</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Mobile Uploads</name>
<created>1231984989</created>
<modified>1233460349</modified>
<description/>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=6300&id=1337262814</link>
<size>3</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086936188</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087005114</cover_pid>
<owner>1337262814</owner>
<name>Christmas 2008</name>
<created>1230361978</created>
<modified>1230362306</modified>
<description>My Album</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=5234&id=1337262814</link>
<size>50</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935881</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241087001093</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Hock</name>
<created>1229889219</created>
<modified>1229889235</modified>
<description>Misc Pics</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4937&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>friends-of-friends</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935541</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241086996817</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Test Album 2 (for work)</name>
<created>1229460455</created>
<modified>1229460475</modified>
<description>this is a test album</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4547&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>everyone</visible>
</album>
<album>
<aid>7031990241086935537</aid>
<cover_pid>7031990241086996795</cover_pid>
<owner>1637262814</owner>
<name>Test Album (for work)</name>
<created>1229459168</created>
<modified>1229459185</modified>
<description>Testing for work</description>
<location/>
<link>http://www.example.com/album.php?aid=4493&id=1637262814</link>
<size>1</size>
<visible>friends</visible>
</album>
</photos_GetAlbums_response>";
static void Main()
{
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(GetAlbumsResponse));
GetAlbumsResponse response;
using (StringReader reader = new StringReader(xml))
{
response = (GetAlbumsResponse)ser.Deserialize(reader);
}
}
}
[Serializable, XmlRoot("photos_GetAlbums_response")]
public class GetAlbumsResponse
{
[XmlElement("album")]
public List<Album> Albums {get;set;}
[XmlAttribute("list")]
public bool IsList { get; set; }
}
public enum AlbumVisibility
{
[XmlEnum("")]
None,
[XmlEnum("friends")]
Friends,
[XmlEnum("friends-of-friends")]
FriendsOfFriends,
[XmlEnum("everyone")]
Everyone
}
[Serializable]
public class Album
{
static readonly DateTime epoch = new DateTime(1970, 1, 1);
static long SerializeDateTime(DateTime value)
{
return (long)((value - epoch).TotalSeconds);
}
static DateTime DeserializeDateTime(long value)
{
return epoch.AddSeconds(value);
}
[XmlElement("aid")]
public long AlbumID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("cover_pid")]
public long CoverPhotoID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("owner")]
public long Owner { get; set; }
[XmlElement("name")]
public string AlbumName { get; set; }
[XmlIgnore]
public DateTime CreateDate { get; set; }
[XmlElement("created"), Browsable(false)]
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Never)]
public long CreateDateInt64 {
get {return SerializeDateTime(CreateDate);}
set {CreateDate = DeserializeDateTime(value);}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public DateTime LastModifiedDate { get; set; }
[XmlElement("modified"), Browsable(false)]
[EditorBrowsable(EditorBrowsableState.Never)]
public long LastModifiedDateInt64
{
get { return SerializeDateTime(LastModifiedDate); }
set { LastModifiedDate = DeserializeDateTime(value); }
}
[XmlElement("description")]
public string Description { get; set; }
[XmlElement("location")]
public string Location { get; set; }
[XmlElement("link")]
public string Link { get; set; }
[XmlElement("size")]
public int Size { get; set; }
[XmlElement("visible")]
public AlbumVisibility Visibility { get; set; }
}

(08 Feb) First, treating xml as a string (for reading) isn't going to cause errors.
The problem is the namespace (the xmlns without the xsi); this wasn't in the earlier xml, so I couldn't include it... basically, you need to tell the serializer about it:
[Serializable, XmlRoot("photos_GetAlbums_response",
Namespace="http://api.example.com/1.0/")]
public class GetAlbumsResponse { /* code as before */ }
[Serializable, XmlType(Namespace="http://api.example.com/1.0/")]
public class Album { /* code as before */ }
On this occasion, a constant for the namespace would make sense (since you are re-using it).
If the xml you are showing is accurate, then the links are still corrupt, though... but maybe this is just copy/paste (i.e. don't apply this change until you know it errors...): you need & (not &). Suggest some "Replace"... at the crudest level:
string fixedXml = xml.Replace("&", "&");
(although something more precise might be better - perhaps a regex)
Note that with the different data I also had to make some of the data strings (rather than long):
[XmlElement("aid")]
public string AlbumID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("cover_pid")]
public string CoverPhotoID { get; set; }
[XmlElement("owner")]
public string Owner { get; set; }
With these changes (and mostly my original code) it works.
Of course, by this point you should be thinking "I wish I'd used xsd".

Yes - album is definitely not the root node in your XML.
What I would recommend you do is create a GetAlbumsResponse class which contains a list of albums, and move your deserialize code to the wrapper class.
Basically, remove the root element from your Album class definition, and :
[XmlRoot (ElementName="GetAlbums_response")]
public class GetAlbumsResponse
{
#region Constructors
public GetAlbumsResponse()
{
}
#endregion
[XmlArray(ElementName="album")]
public List<Album> Albums{get;set;}
... deserialization code...
}

Well,
there is a link from Microsoft targeting your problem

The Xml that would work for your current code is something like this:
<Album><photos_GetAlbums_response>
<Album>
<photos_GetAlbums_response>
<Album>
<photos_GetAlbums_response> ....
A response, which has an array of Albums, where each Album has a response which is an Array of Albums...etc.
Anyway, I already helped you in your other question, and even went to the trouble of creating a full working code sample. Why did you create another question for the same problem ?

Use System.Xml.XmlDocument to parse the input. It shouldn't take more than an hour to write the code to extract the data yourself.

Ok - I coded up an example. I took a look at the Facebook API, now here is a FULL working example.
Try this:
[XmlRoot("photos_getAlbums_response", Namespace="http://api.facebook.com/1.0/")]
public class GetAlbumsResponse
{
public GetAlbumsResponse()
{
}
[XmlElement("album")]
public List<Album> Albums { get; set; }
}
public class Album
{
[XmlElement("aid")]
public long Aid{get;set;}
[XmlElement("cover_pid")]
public long CoverPid{get;set;}
[XmlElement("owner")]
public long Owner{get;set;}
[XmlElement("name")]
public string Name{get;set;}
[XmlElement("created")]
public long Created{get;set;}
[XmlElement("modified")]
public long Modified{get;set;}
[XmlElement("description")]
public string Description{get;set;}
[XmlElement("location")]
public string Location{get;set;}
[XmlElement("link")]
public string Link{get;set;}
[XmlElement("size")]
public int Size{get;set;}
[XmlElement("visible")]
public string Visible{get;set;}
public Album()
{}
}
class XmlUtils
{
public static T DeserializeFromXml<T>(string xml)
{
T result;
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(T));
using (TextReader tr = new StringReader(xml))
{
result = (T)ser.Deserialize(tr);
}
return result;
}
}
Now.. with an xml photos_getAlbums_response from the Facebook API,
You can deserialize like this:
GetAlbumsResponse response = XmlUtils.DeserializeFromXml<GetAlbumsResponse>(xmlResponseString);

This is a really old thread but I just faced the same issue my self while tried to serialize two different list types in the same class under the same XmlArray name, something like
<Root>
<ArrayNode>
<SubnodeType1>...</SubnodeType1>
<SubnodeType1>...</SubnodeType1>
</ArrayNode>
</Root>
Or
<Root>
<ArrayNode>
<SubnodeType2>...</SubnodeType2>
<SubnodeType2>...</SubnodeType2>
</ArrayNode>
</Root>
What has worked for me was to use a class decoration like:
[XmlRoot(Namespace = "", ElementName = "Root")]
public class Root
{
[XmlArray(ElementName = "ArrayNode", Namespace = "", IsNullable = false, Order = 1)]
[XmlArrayItem("SubnodeType1")]
public List<SubnodeType1> SubnodeType1 { get; set; }
[XmlArray(ElementName = "ArrayNode", Namespace = "", IsNullable = false, Order = 2)]
[XmlArrayItem("SubnodeType2")]
public List<SubnodeType2> SubnodeType2 { get; set; }
}
Hope it help someone else :)