How to exclude null properties when using XmlSerializer

Question

I\'m serializing a class like this

public MyClass
{
    public int? a { get; set; }
    public int? b { get; set; }
    public int? c { get; set; }
}
         


        

Answer 1

If you make the class you want to serialise implement IXmlSerializable, you can use the following writer. Note, you will need to implement a reader, but thats not too hard.

    public void WriteXml(XmlWriter writer)
    {
        foreach (var p in GetType().GetProperties())
        {
            if (p.GetCustomAttributes(typeof(XmlIgnoreAttribute), false).Any())
                continue;

            var value = p.GetValue(this, null);

            if (value != null)
            {
                writer.WriteStartElement(p.Name);
                writer.WriteValue(value);
                writer.WriteEndElement();
            }
        }
    }