c# Deserialize XML nested collections

Question

Hi I have some XML I wish to deserialise to .NET POCOs using the XMLSerializer

the xml looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  <message uuid="{2f1e274c-6a53-afea-3047-6dc739539656}">
    <envelope received="a_date" subject="a_name">
      <from>
        <monitor name="Local Folder" user_description="" uuid="{668DC658-97D7-42c8-AE72-ED289DD02355}"/>
      </from>
      <to>
        <account>
          <factory name="a_name"/>
        </account>
      </to>
    </envelope>
    <status>
      <action name="Folder" occured="a_date" type="monitor">
        <session completed="a_date" name="a_name" started="a_date"/>
      </action>
      <action occured="a_date" type="monitor"/>
      <action occured="a_date" type="translate">
        <session completed="a_date" current="a_number" name="a_name" started="a_date" total="a_number" unit="time"/>
        <session completed="a_date" current="a_number" name="a_name" started="a_date" total="a_number" unit="time"/>
      </action>
      <action occured="a_date" type="deliver">
        <session completed="a_date" current="a_number" name="a_name" started="a_date" total="a_number" unit="byte"/>
        <session completed="a_date" name="a_name" started="a_date" unit="byte"/>
        <session completed="a_date" current="a_number" name="a_name" started="a_date" total="a_number" unit="byte"/>
      </action>
      <action occured="a_date" type="complete"/>
    </status>
    <host name="a_name"/>
</message>

Within the xml, I have a status section which contains a collection of actions, each action may contain a collection of sessions.

I have created classes for the XMLSerialiser to deserialize the xml:

namespace myNameSpace
{
    [XmlRoot("message")]
    public class message
    {
        [XmlAttribute("uuid")] 
        public string uuid { get; set; }
        [XmlElement("envelope")]
        public envelope envelope { get; set; }
        [XmlArray("status")]
        [XmlArrayItem(typeof(action))]
        public ObservableCollection<action> status { get; set; }
        [XmlElement("host")]
        public host host { get; set; }
    }

    public class envelope
    {
        [XmlAttribute("received")] 
        public string received { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("subject")]
        public string subject { get; set; }
        [XmlElement("from")]
        public from from { get; set; }
        [XmlElement("to")]
        public to to { get; set; }
    }

    #region envelope element definitions

    public class from
    {
        [XmlElement("monitor")]
        public monitor monitor { get; set; }

    }

    public class monitor
    {
        [XmlAttribute("name")]
        public string name { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("user_description")]
        public string user_description { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("uuid")]
        public string uuid { get; set; }

    }

    public class to
    {
        [XmlElementAttribute("account")]
        public account account { get; set; }
    }

    public class account
    {
        [XmlElementAttribute("factory")]
        public factory factory { get; set; }
    }

    public class factory
    {
        [XmlAttribute("name")]
        public string name { get; set; }
    }

    #endregion

    public class action
    {
        [XmlAttribute("name")]
        public string name { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("occured")]
        public string occured { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("type")]
        public string type { get; set; }
        [XmlArray("action")]
        [XmlArrayItem(typeof(session))]
        public ObservableCollection<session> session { get; set; }
    }

    public class session
    {
        [XmlAttribute("completed")]
        public string completed { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("current")]
        public long current { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("name")]
        public string name { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("started")]
        public string started { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("total")]
        public long total { get; set; }
        [XmlAttribute("unit")]
        public string unit { get; set; }
    }

    public class host
    {
        [XmlAttribute("name")]
        public string name { get; set; }
    }
}

Mostly I get the object graph I desire with all the values correctly deserialzed, but I can not find a way to get the XMLSerialiser to deserialize the session collection within an action element - The are always empty.

Does anyone know how I might build my POCOs so that the XMLserialiser can create the session collections?

best regards

John.

Answer 1

This was generated using xsd.exe. Hope this helps.

using System.Xml.Serialization;
using System.Xml.Schema;
using System;

[SerializableAttribute()]
[XmlRootAttribute(Namespace = "", IsNullable = false)]
public partial class message
{
    [XmlElementAttribute("envelope", Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    public messageEnvelope[] envelope { get; set; }

    [XmlArrayAttribute(Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    [XmlArrayItemAttribute("action", typeof(messageStatusAction), Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified, IsNullable = false)]
    public messageStatusAction[][] status { get; set; }

    [XmlElementAttribute("host", Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    public messageHost[] host { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string uuid { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageEnvelope
{
    [XmlArrayAttribute(Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    [XmlArrayItemAttribute("monitor", typeof(messageEnvelopeFromMonitor), Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified, IsNullable = false)]
    public messageEnvelopeFromMonitor[][] from { get; set; }

    [XmlArrayAttribute(Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    [XmlArrayItemAttribute("account", typeof(messageEnvelopeTOAccountFactory[]), Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified, IsNullable = false)]
    [XmlArrayItemAttribute("factory", typeof(messageEnvelopeTOAccountFactory), Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified, IsNullable = false, NestingLevel = 1)]
    public messageEnvelopeTOAccountFactory[][][] to { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string received { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string subject { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageEnvelopeFromMonitor
{
    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string name { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string user_description { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string uuid { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageEnvelopeTOAccountFactory
{
    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string name { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageStatusAction
{
    [XmlElementAttribute("session", Form = XmlSchemaForm.Unqualified)]
    public messageStatusActionSession[] session { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string name { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string occured { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string type { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageStatusActionSession
{
    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string completed { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string name { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string started { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string current { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string total { get; set; }

    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string unit { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
public partial class messageHost
{
    [XmlAttributeAttribute()]
    public string name { get; set; }
}

[SerializableAttribute()]
[XmlRootAttribute(Namespace = "", IsNullable = false)]
public partial class NewDataSet
{
    [XmlElementAttribute("message")]
    public message[] Items { get; set; }
}

Answer 2

I believe your problem is once you are at the action level, you cant specify it as the XmlArray Type. That would be the sessions. Give this a try and see if it works:

public class action
{
    [XmlAttribute("name")]
    public string name { get; set; }
    [XmlAttribute("occured")]
    public string occured { get; set; }
    [XmlAttribute("type")]
    public string type { get; set; }
    [XmlArray(typeof(session))]
    public ObservableCollection<session> session { get; set; }
}

Answer 3

First, session must inherit action .

Then you might need to replace public ObservableCollection<action> status { get; set; } public ObservableCollection<action> status { get; set; } public ObservableCollection<action> status { get; set; } by public List<action> status { get; set; } public List<action> status { get; set; } public List<action> status { get; set; } or public action[] status { get; set; } public action[] status { get; set; } public action[] status { get; set; } (I don't if ObservableCollection is considered XmlSerializable).

Finally, you may have to add the [XmlInclude(typeof(session))] on the action class declaration.