C# : System.OutOfMemoryException while reading large XML file

Question

C# : System.OutOfMemoryException while reading large XML file

Hegde, Deepak 0

System.OutOfMemoryException

I have an xml file which is about 50MB and I am trying to read the content using the below snippet in C#:

XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
xmlDoc.Load(@"c:\temp\myfile.xml");

I received the below exception few times. Can you comment if the exception is due to the size of the file (if there is a limit to the file size) or could be due to the system resources ? I assume this API is used by lot of developers so the exception should be seen by a lot of them if it is related to file size.

System.OutOfMemoryException: Exception of type 'System.OutOfMemoryException' was thrown.
   at System.Xml.XmlElement.get_Attributes()
   at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadNode(Boolean skipOverWhitespace)
   at System.Xml.XmlLoader.LoadDocSequence(XmlDocument parentDoc)
   at System.Xml.XmlLoader.Load(XmlDocument doc, XmlReader reader, Boolean preserveWhitespace)
   at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(XmlReader reader)
   at System.Xml.XmlDocument.Load(String filename)

Jack J Jun 25,296 Reputation points

2023-06-02T06:32:43.9266667+00:00

@Hegde, Deepak, Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, based on my test, I created a 50 MB xml file. I used the code you provided, but I did not reproduce your problem. The code is no exception for me. If possible, could you share the file with me. BTW, have you considered using another method to read the xml file?

For example, XmlReader is a good choice to read large xml files.
Hegde, Deepak 0 Reputation points

2023-06-06T06:38:47.74+00:00

Hi Jack,

Even I created an XML file and made it as large as 500MB, used few SysInternalTools to simulate more CPU usage and everything works fine when I use the code in a test application.

I received the exception during one of the workflows in my product so I don't know what else can cause the issue (external factors such as RAM, CPU, etc), but I am sure that the exception was raised during XmlDocument loading.
Jack J Jun 25,296 Reputation points

2023-06-06T06:46:26.71+00:00

@Hegde, Deepak, thanks for the feedback, Currently I could not reproduce the same problem, have you considered using another method to read the xml file, like I mentioned in the last comment to use XmlReader?

Your answer

Jack J Jun 25,296 Reputation points

2023-06-02T06:32:43.9266667+00:00

@Hegde, Deepak, Welcome to Microsoft Q&A, based on my test, I created a 50 MB xml file. I used the code you provided, but I did not reproduce your problem. The code is no exception for me. If possible, could you share the file with me. BTW, have you considered using another method to read the xml file?

For example, XmlReader is a good choice to read large xml files.
Hegde, Deepak 0 Reputation points

2023-06-06T06:38:47.74+00:00

Hi Jack,

Even I created an XML file and made it as large as 500MB, used few SysInternalTools to simulate more CPU usage and everything works fine when I use the code in a test application.

I received the exception during one of the workflows in my product so I don't know what else can cause the issue (external factors such as RAM, CPU, etc), but I am sure that the exception was raised during XmlDocument loading.
Jack J Jun 25,296 Reputation points

2023-06-06T06:46:26.71+00:00

@Hegde, Deepak, thanks for the feedback, Currently I could not reproduce the same problem, have you considered using another method to read the xml file, like I mentioned in the last comment to use XmlReader?

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C# : System.OutOfMemoryException while reading large XML file

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