XmlWriter. This class writes XML data from objects in memory. XML files are excellent for interoperability with other systems and Internet sites.
An overview. We use XmlWriter in a C# program, reviewing each step required. The XmlWriter can give the best performance, but it is not the simplest way to write XML data.
Detail To create an XmlWriter, you must assign a variable to the result of the XmlWriter.Create method.
Here The XmlWriter.Create method is told to create a new file called employees.xml. This is where we will store the array data.
using System.Xml;
class Program
{
class Employee
{
int _id;
string _firstName;
string _lastName;
int _salary;
public Employee(int id, string firstName, string lastName, int salary)
{
this._id = id;
this._firstName = firstName;
this._lastName = lastName;
this._salary = salary;
}
public int Id { get { return _id; } }
public string FirstName { get { return _firstName; } }
public string LastName { get { return _lastName; } }
public int Salary { get { return _salary; } }
}
static void Main()
{
Employee[] employees = new Employee[4];
employees[0] = new Employee(1, "David", "Smith", 10000);
employees[1] = new Employee(3, "Mark", "Drinkwater", 30000);
employees[2] = new Employee(4, "Norah", "Miller", 20000);
employees[3] = new Employee(12, "Cecil", "Walker", 120000);
using (XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create("employees.xml"))
{
writer.WriteStartDocument();
writer.WriteStartElement("Employees");
foreach (Employee employee in employees)
{
writer.WriteStartElement("Employee");
writer.WriteElementString("ID", employee.Id.ToString());
writer.WriteElementString("FirstName", employee.FirstName);
writer.WriteElementString("LastName", employee.LastName);
writer.WriteElementString("Salary", employee.Salary.ToString());
writer.WriteEndElement();
}
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndDocument();
}
}
}
Write root. Next, we need to add a root element to the XML. It is important to add a root element with XmlWriter that contains all the other elements.
Info There can be only one root element and it can have any name. If you don't create the root element, you get an error.
using (XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create("employees.xml"))
{
writer.WriteStartDocument();
writer.WriteStartElement("Employees"); // <-- Important root element
writer.WriteEndElement(); // <-- Closes it
writer.WriteEndDocument();
}
Write array. Next, we can loop through the elements in our Employee array. The array we use here is shown in full in the first block of code above.
Note The WriteStartElement method begins a new block, which is empty—it contains no data.
using (XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create("employees.xml"))
{
writer.WriteStartDocument();
writer.WriteStartElement("Employees");
foreach (Employee employee in employees) // <-- This is new
{
writer.WriteStartElement("Employee"); // <-- Write employee element
writer.WriteEndElement();
}
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndDocument();
}
Write object. We take the values from each Employee and access the property getters. The 4 fields from the Employee object are inserted into special tags in the XML.
using (XmlWriter writer = XmlWriter.Create("employees.xml"))
{
writer.WriteStartDocument();
writer.WriteStartElement("Employees");
foreach (Employee employee in employees)
{
writer.WriteStartElement("Employee");
writer.WriteElementString("ID", employee.Id.ToString()); // <-- These are new
writer.WriteElementString("FirstName", employee.FirstName);
writer.WriteElementString("LastName", employee.LastName);
writer.WriteElementString("Salary", employee.Salary.ToString());
writer.WriteEndElement();
}
writer.WriteEndElement();
writer.WriteEndDocument();
}
An error. I have often encountered this InvalidOperationException. The problem here is that you always have to put the root element into your document.
Token StartElement in state EndRoot Element would result in an invalid XML document.
Make sure that the ConformanceLevel setting is set to ConformanceLevel.Fragment or
ConformanceLevel.Auto if you want to write an XML fragment.
Output. We see that there are 4 employee elements with 4 sub-elements in each. It does not have attributes on the elements, but is a properly-formed document.
Dispose. If you use the using-statement on an XmlWriter, the Dispose method will be called. In the Dispose method, we see that the Close method is called.
So You do not need to call Close() if you use using—otherwise, you should call Close.
Tip The using-statement, which wraps all the XmlWriter code, is important to remember.
.method family hidebysig newslot virtual
instance void Dispose(bool disposing) cil managed
{
// Code size 19 (0x13)
.maxstack 8
...
IL_000c: ldarg.0
IL_000d: callvirt instance void System.Xml.XmlWriter::Close()
IL_0012: ret
} // end of method XmlWriter::Dispose
Summary. This tutorial used XmlWriter with the using-statement. And it invoked several methods on the type. We looked at some problems, and checked XML Notepad and the output XML.
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 Feb 15, 2023 (simplify).