XML serialization and inheritance

Question

class A : IXmlSerializable
{     ...
}

class B : A
{
   public string X;
}

When i serialize object of type B, only A is serialized. How can I include X with minimum effort?

Do you really need to implement IXmlSerializable ? Unless you're serializing to a very specific and unusual schema, XmlSerializer can handle most situations by itself — Thomas Levesque, Dec 14 '10 at 13:10
why? you can achieve almost everything by applying attributes — Andrey, Dec 14 '10 at 13:14

Thomas Levesque · Accepted Answer · 2010-12-14T13:15:45.027

The fact you're implementing IXmlSerializable makes it a bit harder...

What you could do is make WriteXml and ReadXml virtual, and override them in your derived class:

public class A : IXmlSerializable
{
    public virtual void WriteXml (XmlWriter writer)
    {
        // Serialize A members
    }

    public virtual void ReadXml (XmlReader reader)
    {
        // Deserialize A members
    }

    public XmlSchema GetSchema()
    {
        return(null);
    }


}


public class B : A
{
    public override void WriteXml (XmlWriter writer)
    {
        base.WriteXml(writer);

        // Serialize B members
    }

    public virtual void ReadXml (XmlReader reader)
    {
        base.ReadXml(reader);

        // Deserialize B members
    }
}

XML serialization and inheritance

1 Answers1