Creating class objects using LINQ with a highly nested XML

Question

I have xml files that I need to load and create class objects from, however, these files are formatted in, what seems to me to be a ridiculously nested way. Sadly I can't have the xml files reformatted. Here's what they look like (assume there is only one purchase entry for every customer and the name can serve as a key):

<root>
<start>
   <customer>
      <store store = "a">
          <customer name = "Ted Johnson">
             <product product = "shampoo">
                <price price = "10">
                </ price>
             </ product>
          </customer>
       </store>
       <store store = "b">
           <customer name = "Janet Henry">
             <product product = "soda">
                <price price = "2">
                </ price>
             </ product>
          </ customer>
       </ store>
   </ customer>

   <tax>
      <store store = "a">
          <customer name = "Ted Johnson">
             <product product = "shampoo">
                <tax tax = "1">
                  <date date = "4/4/2014">
                  </date>
                </tax>
             </ product>
          </customer>
       </store>         
      <store store = "b">
          <customer name = "Janet Henry">
             <product product = "soda">
                <tax tax = "0.2">
                  <date date = "5/5/2014">
                  </date>
                </tax>
             </ product>
          </customer>
       </store>
   </tax>
</ start>
</ root>

Now I need to create class objects in c#/WPF, based on this kind of monstrosity. I've been trying a few things but keep running into hurdles, and I'm worried I might end up spending a long time forcing an inefficient solution. Is there an easy way to approach this?

My goal is to create something like the following:

var customerPurchases = (from e in xml.Descendants(ns + "start")                         
   select new customerPurchase
   {
     name = e.Attribute("name").Value,
     store = e.Attribute("store").Value,
     product = e.Attribute("product").Value,
     price = e.Attribute("price").Value,
     tax = e.Attribute("tax").Value,
     date = e.Attribute("date").Value,  

}).ToList();

Any help or insight on this mess would be greatly appreciated!

Here's an idea, pass it through a transformer to get it into a sane format. That is just ridiculous, and any code that will attempt to process it directly will be just as ridiculous. — Jeff Mercado, Jun 06 '15 at 19:44

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 21 '15 at 14:09

2

You can deserialize your XML string (or file) to C# objects. Find a sample here: https://blog.udemy.com/csharp-serialize-to-xml/

First, you must have classes associated to XML. To create classes, select your XML sample data and, in Visual Studio, go to Edit / Paste Special / Paste XML As Classes.

Next, use this sample.

        String xData = System.IO.File.ReadAllText(@"C:\Temp\MyFile.xml");
        XmlSerializer x = new XmlSerializer(typeof(root));
        root dataConverted = (root)x.Deserialize(new StringReader(xData));
        // root object contains all XML data.

edited Jul 21 '15 at 14:09

Michael Kohne

11,888
3
47
79

answered Jun 06 '15 at 18:23

Denis Voituron

288
1
8

Unfortunately, it would be very difficult (if not impossible) to find an XML deserialiser that would convert this highly custom XML into the target class. – Contango Jun 06 '15 at 19:36
1

See my sample in my answer updated... First, you must have classes associated to XML. To create classes, select your XML sample data and, in Visual Studio, go to Edit / Paste Special / Paste XML As Classes (http://bit.ly/1cE0xlm). Cool, no? I've just made this sample (I can send you a copy if you want). – Denis Voituron Jun 06 '15 at 19:53
1

You should look at the data again. It's in a format that you cannot reasonably expect any serializer to handle without _a lot_ of custom code to deal with it. – Jeff Mercado Jun 06 '15 at 19:54
@Denis Voituron I stand corrected, this is an absolutely brilliant way to convert XML into C# classes. – Contango Jun 06 '15 at 20:07
@Denis Voituron Thanks a lot! This looks great. I'll give it a try. – fyodorfranz Jun 07 '15 at 01:44

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 06 '15 at 19:23

0

If you're not worried too much about speed, I would use LINQ to XML.

See LINQ to XML Overview.

answered Jun 06 '15 at 19:23

Contango

76,540
58
260
305

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:06

I would try converting the XML to a dynamic C# object. Then, the code to read the data out of the dynamic into your strongly typed POCO classes would be far more concise and a lot easier to write.

See Converting XML to a dynamic C# object.

Hint: If you wrap your entire parser in a try/catch, then any mismatch between the schema of the XML input, and the parsing code that uses dynamics, would be detected without bringing down the entire app.

Creating class objects using LINQ with a highly nested XML

3 Answers3