Question

I’m using the .NET serialization classes to XML serialize and log argument values that get passed to certain functions in my application. To this end I need a means to XML serialize the property values of any classes that get passes, but ignoring any properties that cannot be XML serialized (e.g. any Image type properties).

I could go through my classes and mark such properties with the [XmlIgnore] attribute, but ideally I’d like a serializer that just skips over such properties.

Is this achievable?

Answer 1

You could use reflection to dynamically create a XmlAttributeOverrides object to add the XmlIgnore attribute on relevant properties. You just need to implement the logic to determine whether a given type is eligible for XML serialization, and browse the object graph recursively. When you’re done creating the XmlAttributeOverrides object, just pass it to the XmlSerializer constructor