Web API列表序列化

Question

I want to serialize a list to xml (from a web-api method).

public class Result
{
  public List<string> Users { get; set; }
}

So I get for example:

<result>
  <user>Paul</user>
  <user>David</user>
  <user>Joan</user>
</result>

So far, I get:

<result>
  <users>
    <user>Paul</user>
    <user>David</user>
    <user>Joan</user>
  </users>
</result>

How do I tell the serialization not to wrap the user list in a "users" tag?

Thanks.

Answer 1

You could either derive from XmlObjectSerializer and implement your own XML Serializer (see here FMI) or else manipulate your type so it works with the default formatter. Which isn't a great solution, but may work for a simple example, like so:

public class Result : List<User>
{
    //Any user added to Result will be nested directly within Result in the XML
}

Further reading:

• MSDN: XmlObjectSerializer Class : "Extend the XmlObjectSerializer to create your own serializer to serialize and deserialize objects."
• Insights on WCF: CustomXmlObjectSerializer : Real-world example with source code.

Answer 2

You need to replace default DataContractSerializer with XmlSerializer in Application_Start method.

For whole project:

var xml = GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.Formatters.XmlFormatter;
xml.UseXmlSerializer = true;

For specific type:

var xml = GlobalConfiguration.Configuration.Formatters.XmlFormatter;
xml.SetSerializer<Result>(new XmlSerializer(typeof(Result)));

After this you can use attributes to format your xml output:

public class Result
{
  [XmlElement("user")]
  public List<string> Users { get; set; }
}