XmlAnyElementAttribute Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.Xml.Serialization

Assembly:

System.Xml.ReaderWriter.dll

Source:

XmlAnyElementAttribute.cs

Specifies that the member (a field that returns an array of XmlElement or XmlNode objects) contains objects that represent any XML element that has no corresponding member in the object being serialized or deserialized.

public ref class XmlAnyElementAttribute : Attribute

[System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Field | System.AttributeTargets.Parameter | System.AttributeTargets.Property | System.AttributeTargets.ReturnValue, AllowMultiple=true)]
public class XmlAnyElementAttribute : Attribute

[<System.AttributeUsage(System.AttributeTargets.Field | System.AttributeTargets.Parameter | System.AttributeTargets.Property | System.AttributeTargets.ReturnValue, AllowMultiple=true)>]
type XmlAnyElementAttribute = class
    inherit Attribute

Public Class XmlAnyElementAttribute
Inherits Attribute

Inheritance

Object

Attribute

XmlAnyElementAttribute

Attributes

AttributeUsageAttribute

Examples

The following example applies the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field named AllElements that returns an array of XmlElement objects.

public ref class XClass
{
public:

   /* Apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field returning an array
      of XmlElement objects. */

   [XmlAnyElement]
   array<XmlElement^>^AllElements;
};

public ref class Test
{
public:
   void DeserializeObject( String^ filename )
   {
      // Create an XmlSerializer.
      XmlSerializer^ mySerializer = gcnew XmlSerializer( XClass::typeid );

      // To read a file, a FileStream is needed.
      FileStream^ fs = gcnew FileStream( filename,FileMode::Open );

      // Deserialize the class.
      XClass^ x = dynamic_cast<XClass^>(mySerializer->Deserialize( fs ));

      // Read the element names and values.
      System::Collections::IEnumerator^ myEnum = x->AllElements->GetEnumerator();
      while ( myEnum->MoveNext() )
      {
         XmlElement^ xel = safe_cast<XmlElement^>(myEnum->Current);
         Console::WriteLine( "{0}: {1}", xel->LocalName, xel->Value );
      }
   }
};

int main()
{
   Test^ t = gcnew Test;
   t->DeserializeObject( "XFile.xml" );
}

public class XClass
{
   /* Apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field returning an array
   of XmlElement objects. */
   [XmlAnyElement]
   public XmlElement[] AllElements;
}

public class Test
{
   public static void Main()
   {
      Test t = new Test();
      t.DeserializeObject("XFile.xml");
   }

   private void DeserializeObject(string filename)
   {
      // Create an XmlSerializer.
      XmlSerializer mySerializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(XClass));

      // To read a file, a FileStream is needed.
      FileStream fs = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open);

      // Deserialize the class.
      XClass x = (XClass) mySerializer.Deserialize(fs);

      // Read the element names and values.
      foreach(XmlElement xel in x.AllElements)
         Console.WriteLine(xel.LocalName + ": " + xel.Value);
   }
}

Public Class XClass
    ' Apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field returning an array
    ' of XmlElement objects.
    <XmlAnyElement()> Public AllElements() As XmlElement
End Class


Public Class Test
    
    Public Shared Sub Main()
        Dim t As New Test()
        t.DeserializeObject("XFile.xml")
    End Sub
    
    
    Private Sub DeserializeObject(filename As String)
        ' Create an XmlSerializer.
        Dim mySerializer As New XmlSerializer(GetType(XClass))
        
        ' To read a file, a FileStream is needed.
        Dim fs As New FileStream(filename, FileMode.Open)
        
        ' Deserialize the class.
        Dim x As XClass = CType(mySerializer.Deserialize(fs), XClass)
        
        ' Read the element names and values.
        Dim xel As XmlElement
        For Each xel In  x.AllElements
            Console.WriteLine((xel.LocalName & ": " & xel.Value))
        Next xel
    End Sub
End Class

Remarks

Tip

When working in a portable class library, such as in Silverlight, Windows Phone or Windows Store App project, and you are using the .NET Framework 4.0.3 and above, use XElement or XNode in place of XmlElement and XmlNode.

Use the XmlAnyElementAttribute to contain arbitrary data (as XML elements) that can be sent as part of an XML document, such as metadata sent as part of the document.

Apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field that returns an array of XmlElement or XmlNode objects. Such a field can be used in two ways, depending on whether an object is being serialized or deserialized. When serialized, the object is generated as XML elements or nodes, even though they have no corresponding member (or members) in the object being serialized. If you specify a Name property value when applying the attribute, all XmlElement or XmlNode objects inserted into the array must have the same element name and default namespace, or an exception is thrown. If you set the Namespace property value, you must set the Name property as well, and the XmlElement or XmlNode objects must also have the same name and namespace values. If no Name value is specified, the XmlElement or XmlNode objects can have any element name.

When you call the Deserialize method of the XmlSerializer class, all elements that do not have a corresponding member in the object being deserialized are collected in the array. After deserialization, iterate through the collection of XmlElement items to process the data. If you specify a Name value, the array contains only XML elements with that name. If you do not specify a Name value, the array contains all elements that have no corresponding member in the class. If a class contains more than one field to which the attribute is applied, use the Name, or Name and Namespace properties to differentiate between the contents of the arrays. If such a class (with multiple fields) also contains one field that has no differentiating property values set (in other words, Name and Namespace) during deserialization, this array contains any unknown XML elements that are not already contained in the other arrays. If a class contains more than one field that does not have a differentiating Name, or Name and Namespace value set, the behavior during deserialization is unspecified.

You can also apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a field that returns a single XmlElement object. If you do so, you must use the properties and methods of the XmlElement class to recursively iterate through the unknown elements.

You can apply multiple instances of the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a class member, but each instance must have a distinct Name property value. Or, if the same Name property is set for each instance, a distinct Namespace property value must be set for each instance.

The UnknownNode and UnknownAttribute events of the XmlSerializer do not occur if you apply the XmlAnyElementAttribute to a member of a class.

Note

You can use the word XmlAnyElement in your code instead of the longer XmlAnyElementAttribute.

For more information about using attributes, see Attributes.

Constructors

XmlAnyElementAttribute()	Initializes a new instance of the XmlAnyElementAttribute class.
XmlAnyElementAttribute(String)	Initializes a new instance of the XmlAnyElementAttribute class and specifies the XML element name generated in the XML document.
XmlAnyElementAttribute(String, String)	Initializes a new instance of the XmlAnyElementAttribute class and specifies the XML element name generated in the XML document and its XML namespace.

Properties

Name	Gets or sets the XML element name.
Namespace	Gets or sets the XML namespace generated in the XML document.
Order	Gets or sets the explicit order in which the elements are serialized or deserialized.
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)

See also

• XmlAnyAttributeAttribute
• Introducing XML Serialization