Is using a StringBuilder for writing XML ok?
- by Jack Lawson
It feels dirty. But maybe it isn't... is it ok to use a StringBuilder for writing XML? My gut instinct says "although this feels wrong, it's probably pretty darn performant because it's not loading extra libraries and overhead."
Here's what it looks like. I'm building an OpenSearch XML doc based on the domain you come in from.
public void ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)
{
context.Response.ContentType = "text/xml";
string domain = WebUtils.ReturnParsedSourceUrl(null); //returns something like www.sample.com
string cachedChan = context.Cache[domain + "_opensearchdescription"] as String;
if (cachedChan == null)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
sb.Append("<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?>");
sb.Append("<OpenSearchDescription xmlns=\"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/\" xmlns:moz=\"http://www.mozilla.org/2006/browser/search/\">");
sb.Append(" <ShortName>Search</ShortName>");
sb.Append(" <Description>Use " + domain + " to search.</Description>");
sb.Append(" <Contact>[email protected]</Contact>");
sb.Append(" <Url type=\"text/html\" method=\"get\" template=\"http://" + domain + "/Search.aspx?q={searchTerms}\" />");
sb.Append(" <moz:SearchForm>http://" + domain + "/Search.aspx</moz:SearchForm>");
sb.Append(" <Image height=\"16\" width=\"16\" type=\"image/x-icon\">http://" + domain + "/favicon.ico</Image>");
sb.Append("</OpenSearchDescription>");
cachedChan = sb.ToString();
context.Cache.Insert(domain + "_opensearchdescription", cachedChan, null, DateTime.Now.AddDays(14), TimeSpan.Zero);
}
context.Response.Write(cachedChan);
}
