Question

EDIT

• Ok, I’ve got it, it’s not serializable………so, how do I go about serializing it?

Scenario

1. I have a custom BindableDictionary
   that I use to bind with a grid
   control for automatically updating
   the grid when the underlying
   datasource changes.
2. I now want to extend my application
   to use WCF, so that when the
   server-side has finished updating
   the BindableDictionary with new
   values, it can pass this dictionary
   to the client, which in turn can
   perform the update on the Client
   GUI.

Problem

• How do I go about sending this custom
  BindableDictionary over the wire?
• What is the best way to implement this?
• The reason I ask about an implementation method is that every example I’ve seen of Duplex, Callbacks or the Observer Pattern for "PUSHING" my data to the client, only uses an example of passing strings, and it’s very primitive – Whenever I update the examples to use my custom BindableDictionary, I cannot get it to work.
• Am I missing something?

BindableDictionary

    public class BindableDictionary<TKey, TValue> : IDictionary<TKey, TValue>, IBindingList
    {
        private Dictionary<TKey, TValue> source = new Dictionary<TKey, TValue>();

        void IBindingList.AddIndex(PropertyDescriptor property) { }
        object IBindingList.AddNew() { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        bool IBindingList.AllowEdit { get { return false; } }
        bool IBindingList.AllowNew { get { return false; } }
        bool IBindingList.AllowRemove { get { return false; } }
        void IBindingList.ApplySort(PropertyDescriptor property, ListSortDirection direction) { }
        int IBindingList.Find(PropertyDescriptor property, object key) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        bool IBindingList.IsSorted { get { return false; } }
        void IBindingList.RemoveIndex(PropertyDescriptor property) { }
        void IBindingList.RemoveSort() { }
        ListSortDirection IBindingList.SortDirection { get { return ListSortDirection.Ascending; } }
        PropertyDescriptor IBindingList.SortProperty { get { return null; } }
        bool IBindingList.SupportsChangeNotification { get { return true; } }
        bool IBindingList.SupportsSearching { get { return false; } }
        bool IBindingList.SupportsSorting { get { return false; } }
        int System.Collections.IList.Add(object value) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        void System.Collections.IList.Clear() { Clear(); }
        bool System.Collections.IList.Contains(object value) { if (value is TKey) { return source.ContainsKey((TKey)value); } else if (value is TValue) { return source.ContainsValue((TValue)value); } return false; }
        int System.Collections.IList.IndexOf(object value) { return -1; }
        void System.Collections.IList.Insert(int index, object value) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        bool System.Collections.IList.IsFixedSize { get { return false; } }
        bool System.Collections.IList.IsReadOnly { get { return true; } }
        void System.Collections.IList.Remove(object value) { if (value is TKey) { Remove((TKey)value); } }
        void System.Collections.IList.RemoveAt(int index) { throw new NotImplementedException(); }
        object System.Collections.IList.this[int index] { get { throw new NotImplementedException(); } set { throw new NotImplementedException(); } }

        private ListChangedEventHandler listChanged;

        event ListChangedEventHandler IBindingList.ListChanged
        {
            add { listChanged += value; }
            remove { listChanged -= value; }
        }

        protected virtual void OnListChanged(ListChangedEventArgs e)
        {
            var evt = listChanged;

            if (evt != null) evt(this, e);
        }

        public void Add(TKey key, TValue value)
        {
            source.Add(key, value);

            OnListChanged(new ListChangedEventArgs(ListChangedType.Reset, -1));
        }

        public bool Remove(TKey key)
        {
            if (source.Remove(key))
            {
                OnListChanged(new ListChangedEventArgs(ListChangedType.Reset, -1));

                return true;
            }

            return false;
        }

        public TValue this[TKey key]
        {
            get
            {
                return source[key];
            }
            set
            {
                source[key] = value;

                OnListChanged(new ListChangedEventArgs(ListChangedType.Reset, -1));
            }
        }

        void ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Add(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item)
        {
            ((ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>)source).Add(item);

            OnListChanged(new ListChangedEventArgs(ListChangedType.Reset, -1));
        }

        bool ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Remove(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item)
        {
            if (((ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>)source).Remove(item))
            {
                OnListChanged(new ListChangedEventArgs(ListChangedType.Reset, -1));

                return true;
            }

            return false;
        }

        public bool ContainsKey(TKey key) { return source.ContainsKey(key); }
        public ICollection<TKey> Keys { get { return source.Keys; } }
        public bool TryGetValue(TKey key, out TValue value) { return source.TryGetValue(key, out value); }
        public ICollection<TValue> Values { get { return source.Values; } }
        public void Clear() { source.Clear(); }
        bool ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.Contains(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue> item) { return ((ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>)source).Contains(item); }
        void ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.CopyTo(KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>[] array, int arrayIndex) { ((ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>)source).CopyTo(array, arrayIndex); }
        public int Count { get { return source.Count; } }
        bool ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>.IsReadOnly { get { return ((ICollection<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>>)source).IsReadOnly; } }
        public IEnumerator<KeyValuePair<TKey, TValue>> GetEnumerator() { return source.GetEnumerator(); }
        System.Collections.IEnumerator System.Collections.IEnumerable.GetEnumerator() { return GetEnumerator(); }
        bool ICollection.IsSynchronized { get { return false; } }
        object ICollection.SyncRoot { get { return null; } }
        void ICollection.CopyTo(Array array, int arrayIndex) { ((ICollection)source).CopyTo(array, arrayIndex); }
    }

Answer 1

The answer was that the dictionary was not serializable.
I have designed a serializable dictionary now that works.