XML serialization of list

Question

I am serializing an object to XML. I have something like this:

Class A
{
   public string propertyA1  { get; set; }
   public List<B> bList { get; set; }
}

Class B
{
   public string num {get; set;}
   public string propertyB1  { get; set; }
}

When I serialize it to XML, I want it to look like this:

<A>
  <propertyA1>someVal</propertyA1> 
  <B num=1>
     <propertyB1>someVal</propertyB1> 
  </B>
  <B num=2>
     <propertyB1>someVal</propertyB1> 
  </B>
</A>

But, instead it looks like this:

<A>
  <propertyA1>someVal</propertyA1> 
  <bList>
     <B num=1>
        <propertyB1>someVal</propertyB1> 
     </B>
     <B num=2>
        <propertyB1>someVal</propertyB1> 
     </B>
  </bList>
</A>

Any idea how to get rid of the bList in the output? I can provide more sample code if needed

Thanks, Scott

score 17 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 07 '13 at 12:28

17

Add the attribute [XmlElement] to treat the collection as a flat list of elements:

Class A
{
   public string propertyA1  { get; set; }
   [XmlElement("B")]
   public List<B> bList { get; set; }
}

for more info click here

edited Aug 07 '13 at 12:28

Raghavendra Devraj

457
5
16

answered Jul 31 '12 at 01:37

D Stanley

149,601
11
178
240

Excellent, simple and straightforward - was trying using [this] (http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1237683/xml-serialization-of-listt-xml-root) but your solution is much simpler. – Iztoksson Nov 11 '14 at 11:44

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 31 '12 at 05:03

2

Also you can try XmlArrayItemAttribute. Please refer below links.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.xml.serialization.xmlarrayitemattribute.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2baksw0z(v=vs.71).aspx

answered Jul 31 '12 at 05:03

vinodpthmn

1,062
14
28

XML serialization of list

2 Answers2

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