SerializableClasses : how to seriailize properties, not class name. 1

[gdrenfrew]

Hello,

I've got a class I want to serialize into XML.

Simple example:
The class is called "ElementClass" and contains the property "ElementName" which I give the value of "Commodity".

Can I serialize it so the XML output is along the lines of
"<Commodity>", and not "<ElementClass>"?

Or does serializing a class always create an XML element (or attribute) called whatever the class is called?

Thanks

 

[chiph]

When you serialize the contents of a class, when it comes time to de-serialize it, you want the serialized data to be able to go back into an instance of the same class, right? So the root xml element then uses the name of the class, and not some arbitrary name.

Another way of thinking about it is that "Commodity" is a property of the class, and not the class itself. If you have a Ballon class (ballon.cs), it wouldn't make sense for it to serialize to a bit of xml called "red", right? Because if that were true, having the xml called "true" (from the IsInflated property) would also be a valid name.

Chip H.


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[gdrenfrew]

Thanks for the reply Chip.

Good explanation, that makes sense. My way of wanting to do things does look a bit hare-brained when you explain it like the Balloon example.

I've ended up just using XmlTextWriter and not bothering building the data into classes (I don't need to deserialize it).