KnownTypeAttribute Class

Definition

Specifies types that should be recognized by the DataContractSerializer when serializing or deserializing a given type.

C#
[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Class | System.AttributeTargets.Struct, AllowMultiple=true, Inherited=true)]
public sealed class KnownTypeAttribute : Attribute
Inheritance
KnownTypeAttribute
Attributes

Examples

The following example shows a type named Person and a type named IDInformation that should be recognized when serializing or deserializing the Person type.

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
using System.Runtime.Serialization;

namespace KnownTypeAttributeExample
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            try
            {
                Serialize("KnownTypeAttributeExample.xml");
                Deserialize("KnownTypeAttributeExample.xml");
                // Run this twice. The second time, comment out the
                // Serialize call and comment out the
                // KnownTypeAttribute on the Person class. The
                // deserialization will then fail.
            }
            catch (SerializationException exc)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: {1}", exc.Message,
                    exc.StackTrace);
            }
            finally
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Press Enter to exit...");
                Console.ReadLine();
            }
        }

        public static void Serialize(string path)
        {
            Person p = new Person();
            p.Miscellaneous.Add(DateTime.Now, "Hello");
            p.Miscellaneous.Add(DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(1), "World");
            IDInformation w = new IDInformation();
            w.ID = "1111 00000";
            p.Miscellaneous.Add(DateTime.Now.AddSeconds(2), w);
            DataContractSerializer ser =
                new DataContractSerializer(typeof(Person));
            FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Create);
            using (fs)
            {
                ser.WriteObject(fs, p);
            }
        }

        public static void Deserialize(string path)
        {
            DataContractSerializer ser =
                new DataContractSerializer(typeof(Person));
            FileStream fs = new FileStream(path, FileMode.Open);
            using (fs)
            {
                Person p2 = (Person)ser.ReadObject(fs);
                Console.WriteLine("Count {0}", p2.Miscellaneous.Count);
                foreach (DictionaryEntry de in p2.Miscellaneous)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Key {0} Value: {1}", de.Key,
                    de.Value);
                    if (de.Value.GetType() == typeof(IDInformation))
                    {
                        IDInformation www = (IDInformation)de.Value;
                        Console.WriteLine(
                        "\t Found ID Information. ID: {0} \n", www.ID);
                    }
                }
            }
        }

        // Apply the KnownTypeAttribute to the class that
        // includes a member that returns a Hashtable.
        [KnownType(typeof(IDInformation))]
        [DataContract]
        public class Person : IExtensibleDataObject
        {
            private ExtensionDataObject ExtensionDataObjectValue;

            public ExtensionDataObject ExtensionData
            {
                get { return ExtensionDataObjectValue; }
                set { ExtensionDataObjectValue = value; }
            }

            private Hashtable MiscellaneousValue = new Hashtable();
            [DataMember]
            public Hashtable Miscellaneous
            {
                get { return MiscellaneousValue; }
                set { MiscellaneousValue = value; }
            }
        }

        [DataContract]
        public class IDInformation : IExtensibleDataObject
        {
            private ExtensionDataObject ExtensionDataValue;
            public ExtensionDataObject ExtensionData
            {
                get { return ExtensionDataValue; }
                set { ExtensionDataValue = value; }
            }

            [DataMember]
            public string ID;
        }
    }
}

Remarks

Apply the KnownTypeAttribute attribute to a type to indicate to the DataContractSerializer types that should be recognized when serializing or deserializing an instance of the type to which the attribute is applied. This attribute could also be recognized by other serializers that understand data contracts.

Note

In your code, you can use the word KnownType instead of the longer KnownTypeAttribute.

You can either apply exactly one KnownTypeAttribute instance with the MethodName property set, or one or more KnownTypeAttribute instances with the Type property set.

Constructors

KnownTypeAttribute(String)

Initializes a new instance of the KnownTypeAttribute class with the name of a method that returns an IEnumerable of known types.

KnownTypeAttribute(Type)

Initializes a new instance of the KnownTypeAttribute class with the specified type.

Properties

MethodName

Gets the name of a method that will return a list of types that should be recognized during serialization or deserialization.

Type

Gets the type that should be recognized during serialization or deserialization by the DataContractSerializer.

TypeId

When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute.

(Inherited from Attribute)

Methods

Equals(Object)

Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object.

(Inherited from Attribute)
GetHashCode()

Returns the hash code for this instance.

(Inherited from Attribute)
GetType()

Gets the Type of the current instance.

(Inherited from Object)
IsDefaultAttribute()

When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class.

(Inherited from Attribute)
Match(Object)

When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object.

(Inherited from Attribute)
MemberwiseClone()

Creates a shallow copy of the current Object.

(Inherited from Object)
ToString()

Returns a string that represents the current object.

(Inherited from Object)

Explicit Interface Implementations

_Attribute.GetIDsOfNames(Guid, IntPtr, UInt32, UInt32, IntPtr)

Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers.

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.GetTypeInfo(UInt32, UInt32, IntPtr)

Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface.

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.GetTypeInfoCount(UInt32)

Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1).

(Inherited from Attribute)
_Attribute.Invoke(UInt32, Guid, UInt32, Int16, IntPtr, IntPtr, IntPtr, IntPtr)

Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object.

(Inherited from Attribute)

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

See also