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Add schemaLocation to XML serializing List<T> using XmlSerializer

I'm trying to add schemaLocation attribute to XML root element when serializing List<T>. Code works fine if I'm serializing just one object but does not work on lists. My current code:
public class SomeObject
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public class XmlListContainer<T> : List<T>
{
[XmlAttribute(Namespace = XmlSchema.InstanceNamespace)]
public string schemaLocation = "http :// localhost/someschema";
}
public class BuildXml
{
public static void GetXml()
{
var list = new XmlListContainer<SomeObject>()
{
new SomeObject() { Id = 1, Name = "One" },
new SomeObject() { Id = 2, Name = "Two" },
};
var objectToXml = list;
string output;
using (var writer = new StringWriter())
{
var xs = new XmlSerializer(objectToXml.GetType());
var nameSpaces = new XmlSerializerNamespaces();
nameSpaces.Add("xsi", "http :// www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance");
xs.Serialize(writer, objectToXml, nameSpaces);
output = writer.GetStringBuilder().ToString();
writer.Close();
}
Console.WriteLine(output);
}
}
XML root element appears without schemaLocation:
<ArrayOfSomeObject xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
If I'm changing code to
public class SomeObject
{
public int Id { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
[XmlAttribute(Namespace = XmlSchema.InstanceNamespace)]
public string schemaLocation = "http :// localhost/someschema";
}
...
var objectToXml = new SomeObject() { Id = 1, Name = "One" };
...all looks fine but I need list list
<SingleObject xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://localhost/someschema">
Is it possible to add schemaLocation attribute when serializing List<T>?

Unable to serialize object into XML file

I'm trying to save a dictionary of Matrix into an Xml file.
My Matrix class attributes are :
public class Matrix
{
public int Lines { get; set; }
public int Columns { get; set; }
public double[,] Elements { get; set; }
public string name { get; set; }
}
After many attempts, I wrote this :
string fileName = dlg.FileName;
Stream writer = new FileStream(fileName,FileMode.Create);
foreach (KeyValuePair<String, Matrix> matrice in CalMat.Calculatrice.listMatrix)
{
XmlSerializer x = new XmlSerializer(matrice.GetType());
x.Serialize(writer, matrice);
}
writer.Close();
If i run this code with one matrix, the file is created, but i only have this sentence written :
<?xml version="1.0"?><KeyValuePairOfStringMatrix xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" /><?xml version="1.0"?>
I think my code is missing something but I don't know what. A write method, I guess.
Thank you for your time!

I don't think the default KeyValuePair is serializable,
try building your own KeyValuePair class:
[Serializable]
[XmlType(TypeName="MyTypeName")]
public struct KeyValuePair<T1, T2>
{
public T1 Key { get; set; }
public T2 Value { get; set; }
}

Using BinaryFormatter this is the code:
[Serializable] // mark with Serializable
public class Matrix
{
public Matrix(string name, int lines, int columns)
{
Name = name;
Lines = lines;
Columns = columns;
Elements = new double[Lines, Columns];
}
public int Lines { get; set; }
public int Columns { get; set; }
public double[,] Elements { get; set; }
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public static void Main()
{
var path = #"D:\serialize.data"; // use the path that you want
// this is an example collection
var listMatrix = new Dictionary<string, Matrix>();
listMatrix.Add("matrix_1", new Matrix("Matrix 1", 1, 2));
listMatrix.Add("matrix_2", new Matrix("Matrix 2", 2, 2));
// Serialization
var stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create);
var binaryFormatter = new BinaryFormatter();
binaryFormatter.Serialize(stream, listMatrix);
stream.Close();
// Deserialization
stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open);
var result = (Dictionary<string, Matrix>)binaryFormatter.Deserialize(stream);
stream.Close();
}
Using XmlSerializer this is the code:
// I implement my custom KeyValuePair to serialize (because XmlSerializer can not serialize the .net KeyValuePair)
public struct CustomKeyValuePair<T1, T2>
{
public CustomKeyValuePair(T1 key, T2 value): this()
{
Key = key;
Value = value;
}
public T1 Key { get; set; }
public T2 Value { get; set; }
// here I specify how is the cast
public static explicit operator CustomKeyValuePair<T1, T2>(KeyValuePair<T1, T2> keyValuePair)
{
return new CustomKeyValuePair<T1, T2>(keyValuePair.Key, keyValuePair.Value);
}
}
// Matrix class used to Serialize with XmlSerailzer
public class Matrix
{
public Matrix() { } // need a default constructor
public Matrix(string name, int lines, int columns)
{
Name = name;
Lines = lines;
Columns = columns;
Elements = new double[Columns][];
for (int i = 0; i < Elements.Length; i++)
{
Elements[i] = new double[Columns];
}
}
public int Lines { get; set; }
public int Columns { get; set; }
public double[][] Elements { get; set; } // I use double[][] because XmlSerialzer can not serialize a two-dimensional array (double[,])
public string Name { get; set; }
}
public static void Main()
{
var path = #"D:\serialize.data"; // use the path that you want
// this is an example collection
var listMatrix = new Dictionary<string, Matrix>();
listMatrix.Add("matrix_1", new Matrix("Matrix 1", 1, 2));
listMatrix.Add("matrix_2", new Matrix("Matrix 2", 2, 2));
// Serialization
var stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create);
var xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(CustomKeyValuePair<string, Matrix>[]));
var aux = listMatrix.Select(keyValuePair => (CustomKeyValuePair<string, Matrix>) keyValuePair).ToArray();
xmlSerializer.Serialize(stream, aux); // I serialize an array to make easy the deserailizer
stream.Close();
// Deserialization
stream = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open);
var result = (CustomKeyValuePair<string, Matrix>[])xmlSerializer.Deserialize(stream);
stream.Close();
}

Serialize ArrayList of Objects

I have an ArrayList which stores a custom object. I want to serialize that ArrayList to a string so I can save it inside the Application settings.
This question looks to resolve it, but is in java. And I am not smart with XML, so could someone help out?
Serialize an ArrayList of Date object type
I have my ArrayList setup:
...
MyObject tempObj = new MyObject("something",1,"something");
MyCollection.Add(tempObj);
...
And I originally had this. It outputs the string, but the object isn't there:
private string SerializeArrayList(ArrayList obj)
{
System.Xml.XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
Type[] extraTypes = new Type[1];
extraTypes[0] = typeof(MyObject);
System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer serializer = new System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(typeof(ArrayList), extraTypes);
System.IO.MemoryStream stream = new System.IO.MemoryStream();
try
{
serializer.Serialize(stream, obj);
stream.Position = 0;
doc.Load(stream);
return doc.InnerXml;
}
catch { throw; }
finally
{
stream.Close();
stream.Dispose();
}
}
EDIT: Code request
public class MyObject
{
private string eN;
private Boolean bE;
private int min;
private Boolean bot;
private string onE;
public MyObject(string na, Boolean b)
{
...
}
public MyObject()
{
}
public string GetSomething()
{
...

I tested your code and it seems to work ok, as long as you have [Serializable] on your object.
Also if you are trying to Serialize the fields, you will have to make them public properties.
My Test:
ArrayList array = new ArrayList();
Rules tempObj = new Rules { onE = "Value", min = 45, eN = "Value" };
array.Add(tempObj);
string result = SerializeArrayList(array);
private string SerializeArrayList(ArrayList obj)
{
XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(ArrayList), new Type[]{typeof(Rules)});
using (MemoryStream stream = new System.IO.MemoryStream())
{
try
{
serializer.Serialize(stream, obj);
stream.Position = 0;
doc.Load(stream);
return doc.InnerXml;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
}
}
return string.Empty;
}
Object:
[Serializable]
[XmlType(TypeName = "Rules")]
public class Rules
{
// Make fields propertys so they will be serialized
public string eN { get; set; } //Name
public Boolean bE { get; set; } //Whether blocked entirely
public int min { get; set; } //Minutes they are allowed if blocked
public Boolean bot { get; set; } //Create notification if allowance exceed
public string onE { get; set; } //Nothing or CLOSE Process
public Rules(string na, Boolean b)
{
}
public Rules()
{
}
}

I ran into a similar problem, and there is this great program called SharpSerializer, which is available through Nuget. It will handle your ArrayList quite easily, just type the code:
SharpSerializer mySerializer = new SharpSerializer();
mySerializer.Serialize(ArrayList, "filetosaveto.xml");
Here's the link to the website, its free so don't worry about paying anything:
http://www.sharpserializer.com/en/index.html

Deserialize a restful uri

I'm trying to deserialize a rest uri located at http://ws.geonames.org/countryInfo?lang=it&country=DE and keep getting error (There is an error in XML document (1, 1)). Plug http://ws.geonames.org/countryInfo?lang=it&country=DE into the browser and you can see the result.
I have a class
public class Country
{
public string CountryName {get;set;}
public string CountryCode {get;set;}
}
and the method in my console app is as follows:
static void DeserializeTheXML()
{
XmlRootAttribute xRoot = new XmlRootAttribute();
xRoot.ElementName = "countryName";
xRoot.IsNullable = true;
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Country), xRoot);
XmlReader xRdr = XmlReader.Create(new StringReader("http://ws.geonames.org/countryInfo?lang=it&country=DE"));
Country tvd = new Country();
tvd = (Country)ser.Deserialize(xRdr);
Console.WriteLine("Country Name = " + tvd.CountryName);
Console.ReadKey();
}
any ideas on how to deserialize this rest service? thanks..

For serialization to work successfully you need to decorate your objects with the proper serialization attributes or use the XmlAttributeOverrides constructor. Also don't forget that XML is case sensitive and your objects must reflect the XML structure you are deserializing:
public class GeoNames
{
[XmlElement("country")]
public Country[] Countries { get; set; }
}
public class Country
{
[XmlElement("countryName")]
public string CountryName { get; set; }
[XmlElement("countryCode")]
public string CountryCode { get; set; }
}
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
var url = "http://ws.geonames.org/countryInfo?lang=it&country=DE";
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(GeoNames), new XmlRootAttribute("geonames"));
using (var client = new WebClient())
using (var stream = client.OpenRead(url))
{
var geoNames = (GeoNames)serializer.Deserialize(stream);
foreach (var country in geoNames.Countries)
{
Console.WriteLine(
"code: {0}, name: {1}",
country.CountryCode,
country.CountryName
);
}
}
}
}

How to use XML to store a simple object (C#)

I've been using a file like the following to hold data:
field1 field2 field3 field4
myname myhashedpass myemail#email.com more stuff after
etc etc etc etc
Each line is converted into strings (Name, Pass, Email)
I'd like to get my text file (see above) converted into an XML file, like this:
<person1>
<name>myname</name>
<pass>myhashedpass</pass>
<email>etc</email>
</person1>
<person2>
etc etc etc etc
basically, I'm stuck on how to do this migration and also manipulate the XML data in the same way that I do with the text data

The litteral answer to your question is this:
using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Xml.Linq;
namespace XmlSerialization
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var person1 = new Person();
person1.Name = "Joe";
person1.Password = "Cla$$ified";
person1.Email = "none#your.bussiness";
var person2 = new Person();
person2.Name = "Doe";
person2.Name = "$ecret";
person2.Email = "dont#spam.me";
var persons = new[] {person1, person2};
XElement xml = new XElement("persons",
from person in persons
select new XElement("person",
new XElement("name", person.Name),
new XElement("password", person.Password),
new XElement("email", person.Email))
);
xml.Save("persons.xml");
XElement restored_xml = XElement.Load("persons.xml");
Person[] restored_persons = (from person in restored_xml.Elements("person")
select new Person
{
Name = (string)person.Element("name"),
Password = (string)person.Element("password"),
Email = (string)person.Element("email")
})
.ToArray();
foreach (var person in restored_persons)
{
Console.WriteLine(person.ToString());
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
public class Person
{
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Password { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return string.Format("The person with name {0} has password {1} and email {2}",
this.Name, this.Password, this.Email);
}
}
}
However, it is much better to let the built-in serializattion classes do the translation to and from XML for you. The code below needs an explicit reference to the System.Runtime.Serialization.dll. The using statement in itself is not enough:
using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Linq;
using System.Xml.Linq;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;
namespace XmlSerialization
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
var person1 = new Person();
person1.Name = "Joe";
person1.Password = "Cla$$ified";
person1.Email = "none#your.bussiness";
var person2 = new Person();
person2.Name = "Doe";
person2.Name = "$ecret";
person2.Email = "dont#spam.me";
var persons = new[] {person1, person2};
DataContractSerializer serializer=new DataContractSerializer(typeof(Person[]));
using (var stream = new FileStream("persons.xml", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
{
serializer.WriteObject(stream,persons);
}
Person[] restored_persons;
using (var another_stream=new FileStream("persons.xml",FileMode.Open,FileAccess.Read))
{
restored_persons = serializer.ReadObject(another_stream) as Person[];
}
foreach (var person in restored_persons)
{
Console.WriteLine(person.ToString());
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
[DataContract]
public class Person
{
[DataMember]
public string Name { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string Password { get; set; }
[DataMember]
public string Email { get; set; }
public override string ToString()
{
return string.Format("The person with name {0} has password {1} and email {2}",
this.Name, this.Password, this.Email);
}
}
}

so to read out your original file, you have something like:
var people = File.ReadAllLines("filename"))
.Select(line => {
var parts = line.Split();
return new Person {
Name = parts[0],
Password = parts[1],
Email = parts[2]
});
then you can write out to xml by:
var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));
var xmlfile = File.OpenWrite("somefile");
foreach(var person in people)
serializer.Serialize(person, xmlfile);

You may want to take a look at this XML Serialization tutorial. Serialization can save you a lot of work loading and saving the XML file.

Linq provides a nice way to construct XML using the XNodes:
from p in person
select new XElement("person",
from s in p.Keys
select new XElement(s, p[s]));
Easy as cake.

It's not exactly clear from your question, but it sounds like you are serializing a Person class to a text file. This is probably the perfect use case for the XmlSerializer.
Example code:
class Person
{
// XmlSerializer requires parameterless constructor
public Person()
{
}
public string Name { get; set; }
public string Pass { get; set; }
public string Email { get; set; }
public string Host { get; set; }
}
// ...
XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Person));
// Write a person to an XML file
Person person = new Person() { Name = "N", Pass = "P", Email = "E", Host = "H" };
using (XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create("person.xml"))
{
serializer.Serialize(writer);
}
// Read a person from an XML file
using (XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("person.xml"))
{
person = (Person)serializer.Deserialize(reader);
}