CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#xmldataset
Piotrek
Piotrek

Reputation: 189

C# - Clean way for reading data from DataSet created from XML

I've got an app with config.xml file added for user settings.

I am reading it simply by:

 DataSet config = new DataSet();
 config.ReadXml(configPath);

Parameters in config.xml are in columns grouped under some tables:

<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes"?>
<UserSetup>
  <TableA>
    <revBegin>value1</revBegin>
    <revEnd>value2</revEnd>
    ...
  </TableA>
  ...
</UserSetup>

What I'm looking for is a clean way to read from DataSet config, without memorizing table or column names.

In my current implementation I achieved that by following class:

public static class MyTables
{
    public static class TableA
    {
        public const String name = "TableA";
        public const String revBegin = "revBegin";
        public const String revEnd = "revEnd";
        ...
    }
    ...
}

And I read values like this:

String revEnd = config.Tables[MyTables.TableA.name].Rows[0][MyTables.TableA.revEnd].ToString();

But I somehow fill that it is quite easy problem solved in quite complicated - not to say nasty - way.

Do you have any idea how can I make things simpler or cleaner?

P.S. At some point I tried reducing config.Tables[MyTables.TableA.name] part to config.Tables[MyTables.TableA] but - how I see it - it would require adding Index[object] to sealed class DataTableCollection and overriding ToString() method in my static class - both impossible. Am I right?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 165

Answers (1)

Wheels73
Wheels73

Reputation: 2890

Unless you absolutely have to use a DataSet to read the XML, you can achieve the same results using XML serialization. Annotate your classes with the below.

        [XmlRoot]
        [Serializable]
        public class UserSetUp
        {
            [XmlElement]
            public TableA TableA { get; set; }
        }

        [Serializable]
        public class TableA
        {
            [XmlElement]
            public string revBegin { get; set; }

            [XmlElement]
            public string revEnd { get; set; }
        }

Assuming your config in on C:\ for this example.

    var configStream = File.OpenRead(@"C:\Config.xml");
    var reader = new StreamReader(configStream);
    var xmlString = reader.ReadToEnd();
    var serializer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(UserSetUp));
    var stringReader = new StringReader(xmlString);

    var userSetup = (UserSetUp)serializer.Deserialize(stringReader);

I've tested it with the below XML and it works ok.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16" ?>
<UserSetUp>
  <TableA>
    <revBegin>1</revBegin>
    <revEnd>2</revEnd>
  </TableA>
</UserSetUp>

Hope that helps you on your way.

Upvotes: 1

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