XmlArrayItemAttribute Class
Specifies the derived types that the XmlSerializer can place in a serialized array.
Assembly: System.Xml (in System.Xml.dll)
The XmlArrayItemAttribute type exposes the following members.
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() | XmlArrayItemAttribute() | Initializes a new instance of the XmlArrayItemAttribute class. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | XmlArrayItemAttribute(String) | Initializes a new instance of the XmlArrayItemAttribute class and specifies the name of the XML element generated in the XML document. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | XmlArrayItemAttribute(Type) | Initializes a new instance of the XmlArrayItemAttribute class and specifies the Type that can be inserted into the serialized array. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | XmlArrayItemAttribute(String, Type) | Initializes a new instance of the XmlArrayItemAttribute class and specifies the name of the XML element generated in the XML document and the Type that can be inserted into the generated XML document. |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() | DataType | Gets or sets the XML data type of the generated XML element. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | ElementName | Gets or sets the name of the generated XML element. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | Form | Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the name of the generated XML element is qualified. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | IsNullable | Gets or sets a value that indicates whether the XmlSerializer must serialize a member as an empty XML tag with the xsi:nil attribute set to true. |
![]() ![]() | IsNullableSpecified | Gets whether the xsi:nil attribute has been set to true. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | Namespace | Gets or sets the namespace of the generated XML element. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | NestingLevel | Gets or sets the level in a hierarchy of XML elements that the XmlArrayItemAttribute affects. |
![]() ![]() ![]() | Type | Gets or sets the type allowed in an array. |
![]() | TypeId | When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() ![]() ![]() | Equals | Infrastructure. Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() | Finalize | Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() | GetHashCode | Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() | GetType | Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() | IsDefaultAttribute | When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() | Match | When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() | MemberwiseClone | Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.) |
![]() ![]() ![]() | ToString | Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.) |
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
![]() ![]() | _Attribute::GetIDsOfNames | Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() | _Attribute::GetTypeInfo | Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() | _Attribute::GetTypeInfoCount | Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from Attribute.) |
![]() ![]() | _Attribute::Invoke | Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from Attribute.) |
The XmlArrayItemAttribute belongs to a family of attributes that controls how the XmlSerializer serializes or deserializes an object. For a complete list of similar attributes, see Attributes That Control XML Serialization.
You can apply the XmlArrayItemAttribute to any public read/write member that returns an array, or provides access to one. For example, a field that returns an array of objects, a collection, an ArrayList, or any class that implements the IEnumerable interface.
The XmlArrayItemAttribute supports polymorphism--in other words, it allows the XmlSerializer to add derived objects to an array. For example, suppose a class named Mammal is derived from a base class named Animal. Further suppose that a class named MyAnimals contains a field that returns an array of Animal objects. To allow the XmlSerializer to serialize both the Animal and Mammal type, apply the XmlArrayItemAttribute to the field twice, each time specifying one of the two acceptable types.
Note |
|---|
You can apply multiple instances of the XmlArrayItemAttribute or XmlElementAttribute to specify types of objects that can be inserted into the array. |
Note |
|---|
The serialization of a field or property that returns an interface or array of interfaces is not supported. |
For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.
Note |
|---|
You can use the word XmlArrayItem in your code instead of the longer XmlArrayItemAttribute. |
The following example serializes a class named Group that contains a field named Employees that returns an array of Employee objects. The example applies the XmlArrayItemAttribute to the field, thereby instructing the XmlSerializer that it can insert objects of both the base class (Employee) type and derived class type (Manager) into the serialized array.
#using <System.Xml.dll> #using <System.dll> using namespace System; using namespace System::IO; using namespace System::Xml::Serialization; public ref class Employee { public: String^ Name; }; public ref class Manager: public Employee { public: int Level; }; public ref class Group { public: /* The XmlArrayItemAttribute allows the XmlSerializer to insert both the base type (Employee) and derived type (Manager) into serialized arrays. */ [XmlArrayItem(Manager::typeid), XmlArrayItem(Employee::typeid)] array<Employee^>^Employees; /* Use the XmlArrayItemAttribute to specify types allowed in an array of Object items. */ [XmlArray] [XmlArrayItem(Int32::typeid, ElementName="MyNumber"), XmlArrayItem(String::typeid, ElementName="MyString"), XmlArrayItem(Manager::typeid)] array<Object^>^ExtraInfo; }; void SerializeObject( String^ filename ) { // Creates a new XmlSerializer. XmlSerializer^ s = gcnew XmlSerializer( Group::typeid ); // Writing the XML file to disk requires a TextWriter. TextWriter^ writer = gcnew StreamWriter( filename ); Group^ group = gcnew Group; Manager^ manager = gcnew Manager; Employee^ emp1 = gcnew Employee; Employee^ emp2 = gcnew Employee; manager->Name = "Consuela"; manager->Level = 3; emp1->Name = "Seiko"; emp2->Name = "Martina"; array<Employee^>^emps = {manager,emp1,emp2}; group->Employees = emps; // Creates an int and a string and assigns to ExtraInfo. array<Object^>^temp = {43,"Extra",manager}; group->ExtraInfo = temp; // Serializes the object, and closes the StreamWriter. s->Serialize( writer, group ); writer->Close(); } void DeserializeObject( String^ filename ) { FileStream^ fs = gcnew FileStream( filename,FileMode::Open ); XmlSerializer^ x = gcnew XmlSerializer( Group::typeid ); Group^ g = dynamic_cast<Group^>(x->Deserialize( fs )); Console::WriteLine( "Members:" ); System::Collections::IEnumerator^ myEnum = g->Employees->GetEnumerator(); while ( myEnum->MoveNext() ) { Employee^ e = safe_cast<Employee^>(myEnum->Current); Console::WriteLine( "\t{0}", e->Name ); } } int main() { SerializeObject( "TypeDoc.xml" ); DeserializeObject( "TypeDoc.xml" ); }
Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 or later, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP SP2 x64 Edition, Windows Server 2008 (Server Core not supported), Windows Server 2008 R2 (Server Core supported with SP1 or later), 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.

