How to: Read XML from a File

This example uses the XmlTextReader class to extract the element names and text strings from a sample file and store the information in a string variable.

Example

System.Xml.XmlTextReader reader = new System.Xml.XmlTextReader("c:\\IntroToVCS.xml");
            string contents = "";
            while (reader.Read()) 
            {
                reader.MoveToContent();
                if (reader.NodeType == System.Xml.XmlNodeType.Element)
                    contents += "<"+reader.Name + ">\n";
                if (reader.NodeType == System.Xml.XmlNodeType.Text)
                    contents += reader.Value + "\n";
            }
            System.Console.Write(contents);

Compiling the Code

Copy the code and paste it into the Main method of a console application.

Replace "c:\\IntroToVCS.xml" with the actual file name.

Note

The XML document must be well-formed.

Robust Programming

The following condition(s) may cause an exception:

• The path name may be too long.

See Also

Concepts

Designing a User Interface in Visual C#

Other Resources

Accessing and Displaying Data

Visual C# Guided Tour