Xml Serialization - Render Empty Element

Question

I am using the XmlSerializer and have the following property in a class

public string Data { get; set; }

which I need to be output exactly like

Answer 1

The solution to this was to create a PropertyNameSpecified property that the serializer uses to determine whether to serialize the property or not. For example:

public string Data { get; set; }

[XmlIgnore]
public bool DataSpecified 
{ 
   get { return !String.IsNullOrEmpty(Data); }
   set { return; } //The serializer requires a setter
}