Introduction
This article is trying to solve two ultimate serialization problems:
- Can an XML stream be deconstructed using multiple nested
XmlReader
processes;
- Can an XML stream be assembled from multiple nested
XmlWriter
processes.
Solving these problems makes the using of XmlSerializer
possible when you are creating XML from objects.
Using the Code
The library contains two classes: XmlChunkReader
and XmlChunkWriter
.
XmlChunkReader
can be created using XmlReader
while it’s reading XML element nodes. It can be used as a standalone XmlReader
, e.g., to perform a deserialization operation. When XmlChunkReader
is closed, the main reader points to the next XML node. Using XmlChunkReader
helps avoid such calls as ReadInnerXml
.
using (XmlTextReader r = new XmlTextReader(xmlfile))
{
r.ReadStartElement("items");
while (r.Read() && r.MoveToContent() == XmlNodeType.Element)
{
using(XmlChunkReader chunkReader = new XmlChunkReader(r))
{
Item item = (Item)serializer.Deserialize(chunkReader);
Console.WriteLine(item.ToString());
}
}
r.ReadEndElement();
}
XmlChunkWriter
can be created using XmlWriter
. It can be used as a standalone XmlWriter
, e.g., to perform serialization of objects. When XmlChunkWriter
is closed, the main XmlWriter
is ready to continue writing XML data. Using XmlChunkWriter
helps format data in the same manner and avoids writing of XML declaration instructions in the middle of XML.
using (XmlTextWriter w = new XmlTextWriter(xmlfile, Encoding.UTF8))
{
w.Formatting = Formatting.Indented;
w.WriteStartElement("items");
using (XmlChunkWriter chunkWriter = new XmlChunkWriter(w))
serializer.Serialize(chunkWriter, new Item(1, "First"));
using (XmlChunkWriter chunkWriter = new XmlChunkWriter(w))
serializer.Serialize(chunkWriter, new Item(2, "Second"));
w.WriteEndElement();
}
The library also simplifies the implementation of the IXmlSerializable
interface.
The source code can be easily adapted for .NET framework version 1.1.
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