How to convert nested list to XML in C#

Question

I am using the below method to convert a list to XML. How can I alter this in order to convert a nested list in to XML.

private string ConvertProductListToXML(List<ProductDM> productDMList)
{
    var xEle = new XElement("Products",
       from emp in productDMList
       select new XElement("Product",
                    new XElement("ProductID", emp.ProductID),
                      new XElement("Cost", emp.Cost),
                      new XElement("UPC", emp.UPC),
                      new XElement("TaxStatus", emp.TaxStatus)
    ));
    return  ConvertToInnerXML(xEle);
}

public static string ConvertToInnerXML(XElement el)
{
    var reader = el.CreateReader();
    reader.MoveToContent();
    return reader.ReadInnerXml();
}

Model

public class ProductDM
{
    public int? ProductID { get; set; }
    public string UPC { get; set; }
    public string TaxStatus { get; set; }
    public Decimal Cost { get; set; }
}

How can I modify the above code if the data model looks like below with an extended list.

public class ProductDM
{
    public int? ProductID { get; set; }
    public string UPC { get; set; }
    public string TaxStatus { get; set; }
    public Decimal Cost { get; set; }
    public List<InventoryDM> CabinetList { get; set; }
}

public class InventoryDM
{
    public int InventoryID { get; set; }
}

Expected output :

<Product><ProductID>40</ProductID><Cost>2</Cost><UPC>3121</UPC>
<TaxStatus>NO</TaxStatus><CabinetList>
<InventoryID>1</InventoryID></CabinetList><CabinetList>
<InventoryID>2</InventoryID></CabinetList></Product>

Have you had a look at XML serialization? I believe your requirements can be easily done with the tools from the System.Xml.Serialization namespace. — Patric, Jan 16 '18 at 08:42
I agree that you should serialize. Just to answer the question try following : new XElement("TaxStatus", emp.TaxStatus), emp.CabinetList.Select(x => new XElement("CabinetList", new XElement("InventoryID", x.InventoryID)) I don't know why you need multiple CabinetList tags. All the InventoryID should be under one CabinetList. — jdweng, Jan 16 '18 at 10:52

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 16 '18 at 10:00

I wouldn't use xElement. The easiest solution is to use xml serialization. Your class should be updated like this

using System;
using System.Xml.Serialization;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace YourAppNameSpace
{
    [XmlRoot(ElementName="CabinetList")]
    public class InventoryDM {
        [XmlElement(ElementName="InventoryID")]
        public string InventoryID { get; set; }
    }

    [XmlRoot(ElementName="Product")]
    public class Product {
        [XmlElement(ElementName="ProductID")]
        public int? ProductID { get; set; }
        [XmlElement(ElementName="Cost")]
        public Decimal Cost { get; set; }
        [XmlElement(ElementName="UPC")]
        public string UPC { get; set; }
        [XmlElement(ElementName="TaxStatus")]
        public string TaxStatus { get; set; }
        [XmlElement(ElementName="CabinetList")]
        public List<InventoryDM> CabinetList { get; set; }
    }
}

And to serialze the class to xml

public static string SerializeObject(object obj)
        {
            System.Xml.XmlDocument xmlDoc = new System.Xml.XmlDocument();
            System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer serializer = new System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(obj.GetType());
            using (System.IO.MemoryStream ms = new System.IO.MemoryStream())
            {
                serializer.Serialize(ms, obj);
                ms.Position = 0;
                xmlDoc.Load(ms);
                return xmlDoc.InnerXml;
            }
        }

How to convert nested list to XML in C#

1 Answers1