.NET & XML

XML Serialization

XML serialization addresses the requirements mentioned in the previous section. In XML serialization, no assumptions are made about the program that produces the XML or the one that reads it. You may lose some precise CLR type detail, but interoperation with disparate applications is better than with runtime serialization. In order to completely divorce the XML from the CLR, the serialization uses XML Schema datatypes. I mentioned in Table 8-2 that not every XSD datatype has a corresponding CLR datatype. Although each XSD datatype mapped to exactly one CLR datatype, many CLR datatypes could, potentially, each be represented by a number of different XSD datatypes.

The essential point to remember when differentiating runtime serialization from XML serialization is that, in the runtime serialization, the object being serialized actively controls the format of the serialization, whereas in the XML serialization, the object is passively serialized.

The XmlSerializer type contains the methods Serialize( ) and Deserialize( ). Any object can be serialized to XML and, by default, all fields in an object are serialized as elements. Certain attributes can also be used to decorate existing classes and methods. Table 9-2 shows a complete listing of attributes that affect XML serialization.

Table 9-2. Attributes that affect XML serialization

Attribute name	Description
XmlAnyAttributeAttribute	Place this attribute on a member whose type or return type is ...