Question

I have a simple structure, as follows.

public struct Structure
{
    public byte Style;
    public string Value1;
    public string Value2;
    public int Value3;
    public bool Active;
}

I’d like to store an array of this structure using variable size as a file. This file will be automatically loaded upon launch of the program, and updated as the program is in use. I can figure out how to use it within the program, I’m just unsure on the method I should be using to store it. I’m guessing I should use a binarywriter with prefixed byte lengths for each value? If that’s correct, an example of how to store and load a Structure[X] array would be incredibly helpful. For aesthetic reasons, I would like to keep it in a file with a custom extension(ie: Array.ext), though I am not opposed to any other solution that will keep the data stored in that format between launches.

Answer 1

You have a few options. If you need the file to be stored in human readable format you can use an XML or JSON Serializer/Deserializer. Here is an XML example

public static void Serialize(Structure[] input) 
{
  var serializer = new XmlSerializer(input.GetType());
  var sw= new StreamWriter(@"C:\array.ext");
  serializer.Serialize(sw, input);
  sw.Close();
}    

public static Structure[] Deserialize() 
{
  var stream = new StreamReader(@"C:\array.ext");
  var ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(Structure[]));
  object obj = ser.Deserialize(stream);
  stream.Close();
  return (Structure[])obj;
}

If you want to use a binary serializer

public static void Serialize(Structure[] input) 
{
    var stream = new StreamWriter(@"C:\Array.ext");
    var bformatter = new BinaryFormatter();    
    bformatter.Serialize(stream, input);
    stream.Close();
}

public static Structure[] Deserialize() 
{
    var stream = new StreamReader(@"C:\array.ext");
    var bformatter = new BinaryFormatter();
    var obj = bformatter.Deserialize(stream);
    stream.Close();
    return (Structure[])object;
}

You need to mark your class as [Serializable] as well

[Serializable]
public class Structure { //etc