CODEWITHSUNDEEP
protobuf-net
ionwarp
ionwarp

Reputation: 215

Protobuf-net include specific member of non-serializable base class

We are using protobuf-net (and love it!). We now have a protocontract-decorated child class derived from a parent base class, which IS NOT protocontract-decorated.

We are trying to get the child class to serialize/deserialize some of the parent class' fields.

public abstract class TableServiceEntity
{
    public virtual string PartitionKey { get; set; }
    public virtual string RowKey { get; set; }
    public DateTime Timestamp { get; set; }
}

[ProtoContract]
public class IndicatorStreamIndex : TableServiceEntity
{
    // protomember properties
}

How can we get IndicatorStreamIndex to serialize/deserialize PartitionKey, RowKey, and Timestamp?

Best, Mike

Upvotes: 2

Views: 428

Answers (2)

user1210708
user1210708

Reputation: 523

First off - I think you have the technical basis to develop an excellent serializer. That said, I find various aspects of the ProtoBuf serialization so impractical that I cannot see myself using it in its current status.

Let me qualify - First off, with the explicit need for having the ProtoBuf attributes on a class for it to serialize forces a ProtoBuf deployment dependency; while one of the basic ideas behind serialization is that one could take the same classes, and swopping out serializer(s) if/when needed - meaning that the attributes and dll may be not be needed for different deployments.

2nd off - with ProtoBuf not by default recursing the inheritance tree makes it even more Protobuf specific - meaning more clutter in the code, more specific code dependency etc. This is a very obvious flaw in my opinion, as if one derives B from A, then one would naturally want the properties of A to be included when serializing B - without the custom code as shown in the thread above.

Thirdly - picture yourself that there is no need for the attributes... then you can also picture yourself serializing from objects e.g. object[] Parameters - which ProtoBuf cannot currently do. I guess (not being a serialization expert myself), that it may be as simple as putting the class and assembly as part of the the serialized object to resolve it remotely - keeping in mind that the same library must reside there as well. In other words, the ability to serialize any type / type hierarchy, without explicit attributes, based on the assumption that the same types by name and assembly will exist on the remote machine.

Marc, good luck with your implementation.

Gawie

Upvotes: 2

Marc Gravell
Marc Gravell

Reputation: 1062945

This can be configured pretty easily in v2, using RuntimeTypeModel to tweak the configuration at runtime:

// this should only be done once per AppDomain, usually at app startup
RuntimeTypeModel.Default.Add(typeof (IndicatorStreamIndex), true)
    .Add("PartitionKey", "RowKey", "Timestamp");

// then when needed:
var obj = new IndicatorStreamIndex
{
    RowKey = "abc",
    PartitionKey = "def",
    Timestamp = DateTime.Today
};
var clone = Serializer.DeepClone(obj);
Console.WriteLine(clone.RowKey); // "abc"
Console.WriteLine(clone.PartitionKey); // "def"
Console.WriteLine(clone.Timestamp); // 13/02/2012

Upvotes: 2

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