Deserializing xml attributes

Question

I'm using XmlSerializer to deserialize an xml document into some class objects. Is there a way to deserialize a node's attributes into a dictionary of key/values rather than having to name properties for each attribute? Example:

public class Panel {

    public Dictionary<string, string> AllAttributes {get;set;}

    [XmlElement("image", typeof(Image))]
    [XmlElement("panel", typeof(Panel))]
    public object[] Items { get; set; }

}

Answer 1

You have two options:

1. Implement your own serializer.

2. Implement a mapping function:

   • Use XmlSerializer to deserialize to a temporary variable (eg var temp ) instead of directly into your class.
   • Call the mapping function passing it the temporary variable temp . This function creates a new instance of your Panel class, then loops through the temp properties and maps them to this instance, and finally it returns the new instance.