How to: Write Object Data to an XML File (C# and Visual Basic)
This example writes the object from a class to an XML file using the XmlSerializer class.
Example
This code example defines a class named Book, creates an instance of the class, and uses XML serialization to write the instance to an XML file.
Code similar to this is available as an IntelliSense code snippet. In the Code Snippet Manager, it is located in XML. For more information, see Code Snippets.
Public Module XMLWrite
Sub Main()
WriteXML()
End Sub
Public Class Book
Public Title As String
End Class
Public Sub WriteXML()
Dim overview As New Book
overview.Title = "Serialization Overview"
Dim writer As New System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(GetType(Book))
Dim file As New System.IO.StreamWriter(
"c:\temp\SerializationOverview.xml")
writer.Serialize(file, overview)
file.Close()
End Sub
End Module
public class XMLWrite
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
WriteXML();
}
public class Book
{
public String title;
}
public static void WriteXML()
{
Book overview = new Book();
overview.title = "Serialization Overview";
System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer writer =
new System.Xml.Serialization.XmlSerializer(typeof(Book));
System.IO.StreamWriter file = new System.IO.StreamWriter(
@"c:\temp\SerializationOverview.xml");
writer.Serialize(file, overview);
file.Close();
}
}
Compiling the Code
The class must have a public constructor without parameters.
Robust Programming
The following conditions may cause an exception:
The class being serialized does not have a public, parameterless constructor.
The file exists and is read-only (IOException).
The path is too long (PathTooLongException).
The disk is full (IOException).
Security
This example creates a new file, if the file does not already exist. If an application needs to create a file, that application needs Create access for the folder. If the file already exists, the application needs only Write access, a lesser privilege. Where possible, it is more secure to create the file during deployment, and only grant Read access to a single file, rather than Create access for a folder.
See Also
Tasks
How to: Read Object Data from an XML File (C# and Visual Basic)