.NET XmlSerializer fails with List<T>
- by Redshirt
I'm using a singleton class to save all my settings info. It's first utilized by calling Settings.ValidateSettings(@"C:\MyApp").
The problem I'm having is that 'List Contacts' is causing the xmlserializer to fail to write the settings file, or to load said settings. If I comment out the List<T> then I have no problems saving/loading the xml file. What am I doing wrong?
// The actual settings to save
public class MyAppSettings
{
public bool FirstLoad
{ get; set; }
public string VehicleFolderName
{ get; set; }
public string ContactFolderName
{ get; set; }
public List<ContactInfo> Contacts
{
get
{
if (contacts == null)
contacts = new List<ContactInfo>();
return contacts;
}
set
{
contacts = value;
}
}
private List<ContactInfo> contacts;
}
// The class in which the settings are manipulated
public static class Settings
{
public static string SettingPath;
private static MyAppSettings instance;
public static MyAppSettings Instance
{
get
{
if (instance == null)
instance = new MyAppSettings();
return instance;
}
set
{
instance = value;
}
}
public static void InitializeSettings(string path)
{
SettingPath = Path.GetFullPath(path + "\\MyApp.xml");
if (File.Exists(SettingPath))
{
LoadSettings();
}
else
{
Instance.FirstLoad = true;
Instance.VehicleFolderName = "Cars";
Instance.ContactFolderName = "Contacts";
SaveSettingsFile();
}
}
// load the settings from the xml file
private static void LoadSettings()
{
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyAppSettings));
TextReader reader = new StreamReader(SettingPath);
Instance = (MyAppSettings)ser.Deserialize(reader);
reader.Close();
}
// Save the settings to the xml file
public static void SaveSettingsFile()
{
XmlSerializer ser = new XmlSerializer(typeof(MyAppSettings));
TextWriter writer = new StreamWriter(SettingPath);
ser.Serialize(writer, Settings.Instance);
writer.Close();
}
public static bool ValidateSettings(string initialFolder)
{
try
{
Settings.InitializeSettings(initialFolder);
}
catch (Exception e)
{
return false;
}
// Do some validation logic here
return true;
}
}
// A utility class to contain each contact detail
public class ContactInfo
{
public string ContactID;
public string Name;
public string PhoneNumber;
public string Details;
public bool Active;
public int SortOrder;
}
