XML Serialize generic list of serializable objects

Question

Can I serialize a generic list of serializable objects without having to specify their type.

Something like the intention behind the broken code below:

List<ISerializable> serializableList = new List<ISerializable>();

XmlSerializer xmlSerializer = new XmlSerializer(serializableList.GetType());

serializableList.Add((ISerializable)PersonList);

using (StreamWriter streamWriter = System.IO.File.CreateText(fileName))
{
    xmlSerializer.Serialize(streamWriter, serializableList);
}

Edit:

For those who wanted to know detail: when I try to run this code, it errors on the XMLSerializer[...] line with:

Cannot serialize interface System.Runtime.Serialization.ISerializable.

If I change to List<object> I get "There was an error generating the XML document.". The InnerException detail is "{"The type System.Collections.Generic.List1[[Project1.Person, ConsoleFramework, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null]] may not be used in this context."}"

The person object is defined as follows:

[XmlRoot("Person")]
public class Person
{
    string _firstName = String.Empty;
    string _lastName = String.Empty;

    private Person()
    {
    }

    public Person(string lastName, string firstName)
    {
        _lastName = lastName;
        _firstName = firstName;
    }

    [XmlAttribute(DataType = "string", AttributeName = "LastName")]
    public string LastName
    {
        get { return _lastName; }
        set { _lastName = value; }
    }

    [XmlAttribute(DataType = "string", AttributeName = "FirstName")]
    public string FirstName
    {
        get { return _firstName; }
        set { _firstName = value; }
    }
}

The PersonList is just a List<Person> .

This is just for testing though, so didn't feel the details were too important. The key is I have one or more different objects, all of which are serializable. I want to serialize them all to one file. I thought the easiest way to do that would be to put them in a generic list and serialize the list in one go. But this doesn't work.

I tried with List<IXmlSerializable> as well, but that fails with

System.Xml.Serialization.IXmlSerializable cannot be serialized because it does not have a parameterless constructor.

Sorry for the lack of detail, but I am a beginner at this and don't know what detail is required. It would be helpful if people asking for more detail tried to respond in a way that would leave me understanding what details are required, or a basic answer outlining possible directions.

Also thanks to the two answers I've got so far - I could have spent a lot more time reading without getting these ideas. It's amazing how helpful people are on this site.

Answer 1

I have an solution for a generic List<> with dynamic binded items.

class PersonalList it's the root element

[XmlRoot("PersonenListe")]
[XmlInclude(typeof(Person))] // include type class Person
public class PersonalList
{
    [XmlArray("PersonenArray")]
    [XmlArrayItem("PersonObjekt")]
    public List<Person> Persons = new List<Person>();

    [XmlElement("Listname")]
    public string Listname { get; set; }

    // Konstruktoren 
    public PersonalList() { }

    public PersonalList(string name)
    {
        this.Listname = name;
    }

    public void AddPerson(Person person)
    {
        Persons.Add(person);
    }
}

class Person it's an single list element

[XmlType("Person")] // define Type
[XmlInclude(typeof(SpecialPerson)), XmlInclude(typeof(SuperPerson))]  
        // include type class SpecialPerson and class SuperPerson
public class Person
{
    [XmlAttribute("PersID", DataType = "string")]
    public string ID { get; set; }

    [XmlElement("Name")]
    public string Name { get; set; }

    [XmlElement("City")]
    public string City { get; set; }

    [XmlElement("Age")]
    public int Age { get; set; }

    // Konstruktoren 
    public Person() { }

    public Person(string name, string city, int age, string id)
    {
        this.Name = name;
        this.City = city;
        this.Age = age;
        this.ID = id;
    }
}

class SpecialPerson inherits Person

[XmlType("SpecialPerson")] // define Type
public class SpecialPerson : Person
{
    [XmlElement("SpecialInterests")]
    public string Interests { get; set; }

    public SpecialPerson() { }

    public SpecialPerson(string name, string city, int age, string id, string interests)
    {
        this.Name = name;
        this.City = city;
        this.Age = age;
        this.ID = id;
        this.Interests = interests;
    }
}

class SuperPerson inherits Person

[XmlType("SuperPerson")] // define Type
public class SuperPerson : Person
{
    [XmlArray("Skills")]
    [XmlArrayItem("Skill")]
    public List<String> Skills { get; set; }

    [XmlElement("Alias")]
    public string Alias { get; set; }

    public SuperPerson() 
    {
        Skills = new List<String>();
    }

    public SuperPerson(string name, string city, int age, string id, string[] skills, string alias)
    {
        Skills = new List<String>();

        this.Name = name;
        this.City = city;
        this.Age = age;
        this.ID = id;
        foreach (string item in skills)
        {
            this.Skills.Add(item);   
        }
        this.Alias = alias;
    }
}

and the main test Source

static void Main(string[] args)
{
    PersonalList personen = new PersonalList(); 
    personen.Listname = "Friends";

    // normal person
    Person normPerson = new Person();
    normPerson.ID = "0";
    normPerson.Name = "Max Man";
    normPerson.City = "Capitol City";
    normPerson.Age = 33;

    // special person
    SpecialPerson specPerson = new SpecialPerson();
    specPerson.ID = "1";
    specPerson.Name = "Albert Einstein";
    specPerson.City = "Ulm";
    specPerson.Age = 36;
    specPerson.Interests = "Physics";

    // super person
    SuperPerson supPerson = new SuperPerson();
    supPerson.ID = "2";
    supPerson.Name = "Superman";
    supPerson.Alias = "Clark Kent";
    supPerson.City = "Metropolis";
    supPerson.Age = int.MaxValue;
    supPerson.Skills.Add("fly");
    supPerson.Skills.Add("strong");

    // Add Persons
    personen.AddPerson(normPerson);
    personen.AddPerson(specPerson);
    personen.AddPerson(supPerson);

    // Serialize 
    Type[] personTypes = { typeof(Person), typeof(SpecialPerson), typeof(SuperPerson) };
    XmlSerializer serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(PersonalList), personTypes); 
    FileStream fs = new FileStream("Personenliste.xml", FileMode.Create); 
    serializer.Serialize(fs, personen); 
    fs.Close(); 
    personen = null;

    // Deserialize 
    fs = new FileStream("Personenliste.xml", FileMode.Open); 
    personen = (PersonalList)serializer.Deserialize(fs); 
    serializer.Serialize(Console.Out, personen);
    Console.ReadLine();
}

Important is the definition and includes of the diffrent types.