XmlAttributeOverrides Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Xml.Serialization

Assembly:

System.Xml.XmlSerializer.dll

Source:

XmlAttributeOverrides.cs

Allows you to override property, field, and class attributes when you use the XmlSerializer to serialize or deserialize an object.

public ref class XmlAttributeOverrides

public class XmlAttributeOverrides

type XmlAttributeOverrides = class

Public Class XmlAttributeOverrides

Inheritance

Object

XmlAttributeOverrides

Examples

The following example serializes a class named Orchestra, which contains a single field named Instruments that returns an array of Instrument objects. A second class named Brass inherits from the Instrument class. The example uses an instance of the XmlAttributeOverrides class to override the Instrument field, allowing the field to accept Brass objects.

#using <System.Xml.dll>
#using <System.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::IO;
using namespace System::Xml::Serialization;

public ref class Instrument
{
public:
   String^ Name;
};

public ref class Brass: public Instrument
{
public:
   bool IsValved;
};

public ref class Orchestra
{
public:
   array<Instrument^>^Instruments;
};

void SerializeObject( String^ filename )
{
   /* Each overridden field, property, or type requires 
      an XmlAttributes object. */
   XmlAttributes^ attrs = gcnew XmlAttributes;

   /* Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the 
      field that returns Instrument objects. The overridden field
      returns Brass objects instead. */
   XmlElementAttribute^ attr = gcnew XmlElementAttribute;
   attr->ElementName = "Brass";
   attr->Type = Brass::typeid;

   // Add the element to the collection of elements.
   attrs->XmlElements->Add( attr );

   // Create the XmlAttributeOverrides object.
   XmlAttributeOverrides^ attrOverrides = gcnew XmlAttributeOverrides;

   /* Add the type of the class that contains the overridden 
      member and the XmlAttributes to override it with to the 
      XmlAttributeOverrides object. */
   attrOverrides->Add( Orchestra::typeid, "Instruments", attrs );

   // Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
   XmlSerializer^ s = gcnew XmlSerializer( Orchestra::typeid,attrOverrides );

   // Writing the file requires a TextWriter.
   TextWriter^ writer = gcnew StreamWriter( filename );

   // Create the object that will be serialized.
   Orchestra^ band = gcnew Orchestra;

   // Create an object of the derived type.
   Brass^ i = gcnew Brass;
   i->Name = "Trumpet";
   i->IsValved = true;
   array<Instrument^>^myInstruments = {i};
   band->Instruments = myInstruments;

   // Serialize the object.
   s->Serialize( writer, band );
   writer->Close();
}

void DeserializeObject( String^ filename )
{
   XmlAttributeOverrides^ attrOverrides = gcnew XmlAttributeOverrides;
   XmlAttributes^ attrs = gcnew XmlAttributes;

   // Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the Instrument.
   XmlElementAttribute^ attr = gcnew XmlElementAttribute;
   attr->ElementName = "Brass";
   attr->Type = Brass::typeid;

   // Add the XmlElementAttribute to the collection of objects.
   attrs->XmlElements->Add( attr );
   attrOverrides->Add( Orchestra::typeid, "Instruments", attrs );

   // Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
   XmlSerializer^ s = gcnew XmlSerializer( Orchestra::typeid,attrOverrides );
   FileStream^ fs = gcnew FileStream( filename,FileMode::Open );
   Orchestra^ band = dynamic_cast<Orchestra^>(s->Deserialize( fs ));
   Console::WriteLine( "Brass:" );

   /* The difference between deserializing the overridden 
      XML document and serializing it is this: To read the derived 
      object values, you must declare an object of the derived type 
      (Brass), and cast the Instrument instance to it. */
   Brass^ b;
   System::Collections::IEnumerator^ myEnum = band->Instruments->GetEnumerator();
   while ( myEnum->MoveNext() )
   {
      Instrument^ i = safe_cast<Instrument^>(myEnum->Current);
      b = dynamic_cast<Brass^>(i);
      Console::WriteLine( "{0}\n{1}", b->Name, b->IsValved );
   }
}

int main()
{
   SerializeObject( "Override.xml" );
   DeserializeObject( "Override.xml" );
}

using System;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml.Serialization;

public class Orchestra
{
   public Instrument[] Instruments;
}

public class Instrument
{
   public string Name;
}

public class Brass:Instrument
{
   public bool IsValved;
}

public class Run
{
    public static void Main()
    {
       Run test = new Run();
       test.SerializeObject("Override.xml");
       test.DeserializeObject("Override.xml");
    }

    public void SerializeObject(string filename)
    {
      /* Each overridden field, property, or type requires
      an XmlAttributes object. */
      XmlAttributes attrs = new XmlAttributes();

      /* Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the
      field that returns Instrument objects. The overridden field
      returns Brass objects instead. */
      XmlElementAttribute attr = new XmlElementAttribute();
      attr.ElementName = "Brass";
      attr.Type = typeof(Brass);

      // Add the element to the collection of elements.
      attrs.XmlElements.Add(attr);

      // Create the XmlAttributeOverrides object.
      XmlAttributeOverrides attrOverrides = new XmlAttributeOverrides();

      /* Add the type of the class that contains the overridden
      member and the XmlAttributes to override it with to the
      XmlAttributeOverrides object. */
      attrOverrides.Add(typeof(Orchestra), "Instruments", attrs);

      // Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
      XmlSerializer s =
      new XmlSerializer(typeof(Orchestra), attrOverrides);

      // Writing the file requires a TextWriter.
      TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(filename);

      // Create the object that will be serialized.
      Orchestra band = new Orchestra();

      // Create an object of the derived type.
      Brass i = new Brass();
      i.Name = "Trumpet";
      i.IsValved = true;
      Instrument[] myInstruments = {i};
      band.Instruments = myInstruments;

      // Serialize the object.
      s.Serialize(writer,band);
      writer.Close();
   }

   public void DeserializeObject(string filename)
   {
      XmlAttributeOverrides attrOverrides =
         new XmlAttributeOverrides();
      XmlAttributes attrs = new XmlAttributes();

      // Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the Instrument.
      XmlElementAttribute attr = new XmlElementAttribute();
      attr.ElementName = "Brass";
      attr.Type = typeof(Brass);

      // Add the XmlElementAttribute to the collection of objects.
      attrs.XmlElements.Add(attr);

      attrOverrides.Add(typeof(Orchestra), "Instruments", attrs);

      // Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
      XmlSerializer s =
      new XmlSerializer(typeof(Orchestra), attrOverrides);

      FileStream fs = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open);
      Orchestra band = (Orchestra) s.Deserialize(fs);
      Console.WriteLine("Brass:");

      /* The difference between deserializing the overridden
      XML document and serializing it is this: To read the derived
      object values, you must declare an object of the derived type
      (Brass), and cast the Instrument instance to it. */
      Brass b;
      foreach(Instrument i in band.Instruments)
      {
         b = (Brass)i;
         Console.WriteLine(
         b.Name + "\n" +
         b.IsValved);
      }
   }
}

Option Explicit
Option Strict

Imports System.IO
Imports System.Xml.Serialization

Public Class Orchestra
    Public Instruments() As Instrument
End Class

Public Class Instrument
    Public Name As String
End Class

Public Class Brass
    Inherits Instrument
    Public IsValved As Boolean
End Class

Public Class Run
    
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim test As New Run()
        test.SerializeObject("Override.xml")
        test.DeserializeObject("Override.xml")
    End Sub
        
    Public Sub SerializeObject(ByVal filename As String)
        ' Each overridden field, property, or type requires
        ' an XmlAttributes object. 
        Dim attrs As New XmlAttributes()
        
        ' Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the
        ' field that returns Instrument objects. The overridden field
        ' returns Brass objects instead. 
        Dim attr As New XmlElementAttribute()
        attr.ElementName = "Brass"
        attr.Type = GetType(Brass)
        
        ' Add the element to the collection of elements.
        attrs.XmlElements.Add(attr)
        
        ' Create the XmlAttributeOverrides object.
        Dim attrOverrides As New XmlAttributeOverrides()
        
        ' Add the type of the class that contains the overridden
        ' member and the XmlAttributes to override it with to the
        ' XmlAttributeOverrides object. 
        attrOverrides.Add(GetType(Orchestra), "Instruments", attrs)
        
        ' Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
        Dim s As New XmlSerializer(GetType(Orchestra), attrOverrides)
        
        ' Writing the file requires a TextWriter.
        Dim writer As New StreamWriter(filename)
        
        ' Create the object that will be serialized.
        Dim band As New Orchestra()
        
        ' Create an object of the derived type.
        Dim i As New Brass()
        i.Name = "Trumpet"
        i.IsValved = True
        Dim myInstruments() As Instrument = {i}
        band.Instruments = myInstruments
        
        ' Serialize the object.
        s.Serialize(writer, band)
        writer.Close()
    End Sub    
    
    Public Sub DeserializeObject(filename As String)
        Dim attrOverrides As New XmlAttributeOverrides()
        Dim attrs As New XmlAttributes()
        
        ' Create an XmlElementAttribute to override the Instrument.
        Dim attr As New XmlElementAttribute()
        attr.ElementName = "Brass"
        attr.Type = GetType(Brass)
        
        ' Add the XmlElementAttribute to the collection of objects.
        attrs.XmlElements.Add(attr)
        
        attrOverrides.Add(GetType(Orchestra), "Instruments", attrs)
        
        ' Create the XmlSerializer using the XmlAttributeOverrides.
        Dim s As New XmlSerializer(GetType(Orchestra), attrOverrides)
        
        Dim fs As New FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open)
        Dim band As Orchestra = CType(s.Deserialize(fs), Orchestra)
        Console.WriteLine("Brass:")
        
        ' The difference between deserializing the overridden
        ' XML document and serializing it is this: To read the derived
        ' object values, you must declare an object of the derived type
        ' (Brass), and cast the Instrument instance to it. 
        Dim b As Brass
        Dim i As Instrument
        For Each i In  band.Instruments
            b = CType(i, Brass)
            Console.WriteLine(b.Name & ControlChars.Cr & b.IsValved)
        Next i
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

The XmlAttributeOverrides enables the XmlSerializer to override the default way of serializing a set of objects. Overriding serialization in this way has two uses: first, you can control and augment the serialization of objects found in a DLL--even if you do not have access to the source; second, you can create one set of serializable classes, but serialize the objects in multiple ways. For example, instead of serializing members of a class instance as XML elements, you can serialize them as XML attributes, resulting in a more efficient document to transport.

After you create an XmlAttributeOverrides object, you pass it as an argument to the XmlSerializer constructor. The resulting XmlSerializer uses the data contained by the XmlAttributeOverrides to override attributes that control how objects are serialized. To accomplish this, the XmlAttributeOverrides contains a collection of the object types that are overridden, as well as an XmlAttributes object associated with each overridden object type. The XmlAttributes object itself contains an appropriate set of attribute objects that control how each field, property, or class is serialized.

The process for creating and using an XmlAttributeOverrides object is as follows:

1. Create an XmlAttributes object.

2. Create an attribute object that is appropriate to the object being overridden. For example, to override a field or property, create an XmlElementAttribute, using the new, derived type. You can optionally assign a new ElementName, or Namespace that overrides the base class's attribute name or namespace.

3. Add the attribute object to the appropriate XmlAttributes property or collection. For example, you would add the XmlElementAttribute to the XmlElements collection of the XmlAttributes object, specifying the member name that is being overridden.

4. Create an XmlAttributeOverrides object.

5. Using the Add method, add the XmlAttributes object to the XmlAttributeOverrides object. If the object being overridden is an XmlRootAttribute or XmlTypeAttribute, you need only to specify the type of the overridden object. But if you are overriding a field or property, you must also specify the name of the overridden member.

6. When constructing the XmlSerializer, pass the XmlAttributeOverrides to the XmlSerializer constructor.

7. Use the resulting XmlSerializer to serialize or deserialize the derived class objects.

Constructors

XmlAttributeOverrides()

Initializes a new instance of the XmlAttributeOverrides class.

Properties

Item[Type, String]	Gets the object associated with the specified (base-class) type. The member parameter specifies the base-class member that is overridden.
Item[Type]	Gets the object associated with the specified, base-class, type.

Methods

Add(Type, String, XmlAttributes)	Adds an XmlAttributes object to the collection of XmlAttributes objects. The type parameter specifies an object to be overridden. The member parameter specifies the name of a member that is overridden.
Add(Type, XmlAttributes)	Adds an XmlAttributes object to the collection of XmlAttributes objects. The type parameter specifies an object to be overridden by the XmlAttributes object.
Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)

See also

• Deserialize(Stream)
• Serialize(TextWriter, Object)
• XmlSerializer
• XmlAttributes
• Introducing XML Serialization
• How to: Specify an Alternate Element Name for an XML Stream
• Controlling XML Serialization Using Attributes
• Examples of XML Serialization
• XML Schema Definition Tool (Xsd.exe)