CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#serializationdeserialization
Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight

Reputation: 6061

Deserialize binary data without knowing the exact type written

I've encountered a problem where a small number of data objects stored using a BinaryFormatter are coming back with parameters missing (null/default).

I'd like to know if the missing items were saved as null, or if the objects that were serialized were changed from the versions in source control and then reverted before a code commit (eg int numDogs vs unsigned int dogCount).

The former would represent a serious bug in the data validation code ran before the serialization was done; while the latter is just junk data in a test DB and ignorable.

Since the BinaryFormatter is able to get everything else out when a member is changed, added, or removed I assume it's writing objects in a form similar to a key value store. Is there any way to get a human readable representation of it, without having to try and guess the exact details of the object that was serialized?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 1108

Answers (1)

Nick Butler
Nick Butler

Reputation: 24383

If you implement ISerializable on your objects, you can have a look at what's been serialized by trying to deserialize.

You will need to add a constructor with the same signature as ISerializable.GetObjectData - this is where deserialization occurs.

Upvotes: 2

Related Questions