C# XmlTextReader - Dot Net Perls

XmlTextReaderUse the XmlTextReader type to read in XML data stored in a string.

This page was last reviewed on Sep 28, 2022.

XmlTextReader. With XmlTextReader we parse XML data. This type acts upon a string containing XML markup. A while-loop is needed to keep reading from the object.

while

Type notes. We use the XmlTextReader constructor and develop a custom parser for XML data. This is an efficient approach to XML parsing.

XmlTextWriter

Example program. A complete XML document is stored inside a string literal. With the StringReader constructor, we read this string as a StringReader.

String Literal

Next We pass the StringReader to the XmlTextReader constructor. In the while-loop, we read nodes and proceed if we detect a start element.

StringReader

Detail We process each tag name differently in the switch statement. We use ReadString to read in the next node as a string.

String switch

using System; using System.IO; using System.Xml; class Program { static void Main() { string input = @"<?xml version=""1.0"" encoding=""utf-16""?><List> <Employee><ID>1</ID><First>David</First> <Last>Smith</Last><Salary>10000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>3</ID><First>Mark</First> <Last>Drinkwater</Last><Salary>30000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>4</ID><First>Norah</First> <Last>Miller</Last><Salary>20000</Salary></Employee> <Employee><ID>12</ID><First>Cecil</First> <Last>Walker</Last><Salary>120000</Salary></Employee> </List>"; using (StringReader stringReader = new StringReader(input)) using (XmlTextReader reader = new XmlTextReader(stringReader)) { while (reader.Read()) { if (reader.IsStartElement()) { switch (reader.Name) { case "Employee": Console.WriteLine(); break; case "ID": Console.WriteLine("ID: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "First": Console.WriteLine("First: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "Last": Console.WriteLine("Last: " + reader.ReadString()); break; case "Salary": Console.WriteLine("Salary: " + reader.ReadString()); break; } } } } } }

ID: 1 First: David Last: Smith Salary: 10000 ID: 3 First: Mark Last: Drinkwater Salary: 30000 ID: 4 First: Norah Last: Miller Salary: 20000 ID: 12 First: Cecil Last: Walker Salary: 120000

XmlReader note. XmlReader and XmlTextReader are basically the same. When you call XmlTextReader.Create, an XmlReader is returned. The XmlTextReader type provides more constructors.

XmlReader

Also If execution speed is not important, other types such as XElement can lead to faster development.

XElement

Summary. We looked at the XmlTextReader type. With XmlTextReader, we gain more constructors for using an XmlReader. These types can be used to develop fast parsers for XML files.

Dot Net Perls is a collection of tested code examples. Pages are continually updated to stay current, with code correctness a top priority.

Sam Allen is passionate about computer languages. In the past, his work has been recommended by Apple and Microsoft and he has studied computers at a selective university in the United States.

This page was last updated on Sep 28, 2022 (edit).

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