DataMemberAttribute.EmitDefaultValue Property

Definition

Gets or sets a value that specifies whether to serialize the default value for a field or property being serialized.

C#
public bool EmitDefaultValue { get; set; }

Property Value

true if the default value for a member should be generated in the serialization stream; otherwise, false. The default is true.

Examples

The following example shows the EmitDefaultValue property set to false on various fields.

C#
[DataContract]
public class Employee
{
    // The CLR default for as string is a null value.
    // This will be written as <employeeName xsi:nill="true" />
    [DataMember]
    public string EmployeeName = null;

    // This will be written as <employeeID>0</employeeID>
    [DataMember]
    public int employeeID = 0;

    // The next three will not be written because the EmitDefaultValue = false.
    [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
    public string position = null;
    [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
    public int salary = 0;
    [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
    public int? bonus = null;

    // This will be written as <targetSalary>57800</targetSalary>
    [DataMember(EmitDefaultValue = false)]
    public int targetSalary = 57800;
}

Remarks

In the .NET Framework, types have a concept of default values. For example, for any reference type the default value is null, and for an integer type it is 0. It is occasionally desirable to omit a data member from the serialized data when it is set to its default value. To do this, set the EmitDefaultValue property to false (it is true by default).

Note

Setting the EmitDefaultValue property to false is not a recommended practice. It should only be done if there is a specific need to do so (such as for interoperability or to reduce data size).

Applies to

Product Versions
.NET Core 1.0, Core 1.1, Core 2.0, Core 2.1, Core 2.2, Core 3.0, Core 3.1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
.NET Framework 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2, 4.8, 4.8.1
.NET Standard 2.0, 2.1
UWP 10.0