OptionalFieldAttribute Class (System.Runtime.Serialization)

OptionalFieldAttribute Class

.NET Framework 4

Specifies that a field can be missing from a serialization stream so that the BinaryFormatter and the SoapFormatter does not throw an exception.

Namespace: System.Runtime.Serialization
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Syntax

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'Declaration

<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Field, Inherited := False)> _
Public NotInheritable Class OptionalFieldAttribute _
	Inherits Attribute

Remarks

This attribute allows you to specify that new fields in a serializable type (a type to which the SerializableAttribute is applied to) are ignored by the BinaryFormatter or the SoapFormatter. This enables version-tolerant serialization of types created for older versions of an application that serializes data. For example, when the formatters encounter a stream produced by a version that does not include the new fields, no exception is thrown, and the existing data on the older type is processed as normal.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
System.Attribute
System.Runtime.Serialization.OptionalFieldAttribute

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core Role not supported), Windows Server 2003 SP2

The .NET Framework does not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

Version Information

.NET Framework

Supported in: 4, 3.5, 3.0, 2.0

.NET Framework Client Profile

Supported in: 4, 3.5 SP1

Reference

OptionalFieldAttribute Members

System.Runtime.Serialization Namespace

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